Adam Wakelin's way with winter skimmers

Winter feederfishing for bream can so often revolve around tiny little changes making a big difference and nowhere more so is this true than in the distance you fish at.
Plug away on one line and you will catch to begin with but when the bites die off, too many anglers keep at it more in hope than anything else that the bream will return. The truth is that they rarely do but nor is it the case that they have stopped feeding. Very often, the fish will simply have moved a few yards further out or even closer to the bank.
This can be down to clarity of the water and the pressure that’s being put on the fish when a few of their mates get caught but when the tip stops moving, don’t just sit there. Wind in, take a few turns off the reel or add a few and get back in. The change is often immediate!
The Main Lake at Barston Lakes is a typical example of this change. I’ve fished plenty of matches when the bites have stopped and you have to follow those bream around. It’s common at Barston for the bream to move closer onto a long pole line that pole anglers commonly fish and you almost need to have two separate lines on the go at once, allowing you to chop and change.

The right distance
To kick off with and provided the water has a bit of colour in it, I will begin fishing at around 26 turns on the reel. This is a comfortable distance to cast but far enough out to encourage a number of fish into the swim. When it all goes quiet, it simply needs line adding or taking off the cast and I firstly go longer, only by four or five turns. If this doesn’t work then the fish may be closer in so I drop the cast to around 20 turns. Again, if this draws a blank then I may need to throw even further than I did. At some point though, you will find the fish and catch them.

Two feeders for two jobs
Although Method feeders catch a lot of bream in the summer at Barston, in winter I think the fish want groundbait at opposed to pellets so the cage feeder is the answer. The Main Lake is relatively shallow so a cage or plastic open end works well and my favourite is the Preston Innovations Plug It in the small 20g side, heavy enough to reach the spot but without putting in too much bait.
I will have a second rod set up though and this uses an in-line Cage feeder with a shorter hooklink. The reason for this is that because the bream are used to seeing Method feeders with the bait close by, they often attack the feeder to get the bait - the short tail puts the hookbait nearby. You’ll know if this is happening when using the Plug It feeder and longer tail because you will get a sharp knock on the tip very quickly after casting and then nothing. Then it’s time to change!

Rigging up
Things are relatively simple on this front with 4lb Power Max mainline to a 50cm link of 0.11mm Powerline (shortened to 8-10 inches for the inline Cage) and a size 16 PR412 hook. I do use a shockleader though, even with mono as it gives me a bit more poke when playing a bonus carp or F1 under the rod tip. This is several metres of 8lb Korum reel line. The rig itself runs on the mainline with the feeder on one of my home-made feeder links above a six inch length of twisted line to eliminate tangles. Needless to say I clip up to make sure I’m on the right spot each time.

Rod choice
It is easy to get an old favourite rod out of the bag every time but different lengths will make fishing so much easier. I have three of the new Preston Innovations Equis rods ready to go in my bag and for relatively short range, the 11ft model, a classic bream rod will do. However, if I need to cast beyond say 30 turns, then you will struggle to be super accurate unless you scale up to the 11ft 6in rod – that extra six inches really does make all the difference! There’s also a 12ft rod for really long casts when the water is clear and cold. Winter bream fishing in my experience is about distance and not depth – find the range that the fish are feeding at. The depth is irrelevant really.

Bloodworm and joker
These are baits that can stop a lot of anglers in their tracks. They think it’s too expensive and difficult to use but both are simply not true. A match pack of worm and joker is cheaper than buying half a kilo of worms and two pints of casters and you don’t have to faff around with leam to use it. Both are so natural to fish compared to casters or maggots and in winter when every bite counts, this is crucial.
The joker goes into my groundbait while bloodworm is used in bunches on the hook alongside dead maggots and pinkies. You don’t need to be packing the feeder with lots of goodies at this time of year so there’s no place for micro pellets, chopped worm or casters!

Three types of groundbait
Plain groundbait is okay to use when you are catching but in clearing water, I find that you need to put something in the feeder that makes something happen. Damp leam is the answer as this will put a bit of a cloud into the water that the fish can’t help but investigate.
So on my tray I have a bowl of just Sonubaits F1 Dark groundbait, a second bowl that is 50/50 F1 Dark and damp leam and finally a bowl of just leam. I’ll switch to leam when the swim seems dead or if I am changing lines and want to get things going quickly. When I’m catching again, I go back to just groundbait. To these feeds I will add a good helping of joker, not loads of the stuff but certainly enough to hold the fish when they arrive.

Hookbaits
Dead maggots and fluoro pinkies are my starting bait as a single maggot or double pinkie but as soon as I can, I want to get onto bloodworm. When I am catching well, I then make the change to five or six worms crammed onto the hook, perhaps tipped with a dead pinkie. Bream love bloodworm and once they find it, they can very rarely resist it!

Feel your way in
How long should you leave the feeder out there for? Surprisingly, the answer is not too long as I think that if the fish have been drawn in, a bite shouldn’t be long in coming. I don’t bosh in several feeders of bait at the start, preferring to build the swim simply with what’s in the feeder on each cast and I wait 10 minutes between chucks. If you are catching though, this will be much quicker and so you will be getting the feed in faster.

Mark Pollard's 10 steps to roach water success

For Mark Pollard, there’s no finer sight than a big bag of shimmering redfins glistening in the sunshine.

The prolific match angler and silverfish expert is a dab hand at putting such a net together, a catch like that pictured in the following few pages. 

Here he gives his 10 vital steps to roach success on the pole on a variety of stillwater venues this spring including commercials, big natural lakes and park lakes such as the one he was targeting today, Furzton Lake in the centre of Milton Keynes.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned long pole angler, you’re bound to take plenty from his sound advice. Over to you Mark… 

1. Pick your spot

Where you choose to fish your pole line and put your bag at the start of the session is often a deal breaker. Too close and you might not get bites, too far out and you’ll make it harder than you need for yourself. 

If you’ve got a coloured lake with a good ‘chop’ on the surface caused by the wind, you’re more likely to be able to catch closer. However, if it’s clear or calm, you’ll probably have to fish a bit further out as the water is still quite cold.

A range of 11m-13m is a good starting point, especially on these larger stillwaters and park lakes. Fishing at this distance usually puts you out beyond any shelves and on to a flat bottom. On a small, well-stocked commercial fishery you’ll probably be able to catch on a short pole. 

Make up a couple of large balls to cup in at the start.

2. Use dark groundbait

At this time of year I’m still a fan of using a dark groundbait mix for roach. My choice is a simple even quantity of Dynamite Frenzied Hempseed Match Black and Silver X Roach. The Silver X gives it a bit of food value and is quite an active mix, while the Hempseed groundbait darkens the mix and is hemp-based, great for roach. 

To this I add casters and a bit of tinned Frenzied hempseed. Unless you kill them beforehand, you can’t add maggots to balls of groundbait because they’ll break up the balls and generally wreak havoc! 

When deciding how many balls of groundbait to feed remember this – you can’t take out what you’ve put in, but you can build up the peg gradually! It’s far better to cup in, say, two or three large balls cautiously, than blow the peg immediately with too much groundbait.

3. Elastics and setting up

A No.4 Matrix solid elastic is my choice for roach on stillwaters – there’s no need to go lighter. I put a light elastic like this through the No.2 section and a bit of the No.1, which is cut back for my pole bush. This is enough cushion for small fish but isn’t so stretchy that it will be difficult to swing and land fish.

You can’t do this for heavier elastics and bigger fish, however, because your elastic won’t have enough stretch in it! If bigger roach and the occasional bonus fish were on the cards, I’d use a grade five or six through the full top three kit. 

4. Swing your rig

There are various ways of getting the bait to the bottom and presenting your offering to the fish. You can lower a pole rig straight down vertically, which you might do if you’re looking to catch all your fish hard on the bottom with the shot bulked. Or, you can lay the whole lot in horizontally straight out on the surface, which can be good for catching fish on-the-drop as the bait falls through the water, with the shot spread out shirt-button style. 

The best way I’ve found, however, is to lift the pole and swing the rig out beyond the tip away from you. Let the rig land in a straight line then keep a tight line to the float and the bait will swing in an arc back towards you. Let it go slack as the bristle cocks upwards. This is a great way of catching a slightly bigger stamp of fish which seem to sit on the far perimeter of the main feed.

Mark chooses a heavier than normal float so he can maintain control on big, open waters

5. Avoid slim floats

Although you could use a slim float for roach, and many do, I like something with a bit of body on it such as a rugby ball shape, to hold the line tight against. On these bigger waters a slim float would get carried around in the tow and wind, offering poor presentation. I like to have control of the rig and today, for example, in 5ft of water, I’ve gone for a 0.75g MP roach as I’m fishing on the bottom.

6. Light hooklengths

Roach aren’t daft wherever you go and light tackle is still needed to fool them. On a big natural style venue such as this I’ve got a 6in length of 0.08mm (1.7lb) as my hooklength, although I wouldn’t drop lower than this on a stillwater. On a really coloured venue where bigger fish are on the cards, I would consider stepping up to 0.10mm (2lb). As long as these are matched and balanced with light elastics you shouldn’t get broken. Where barbed hooks are allowed, I prefer the Kamasan B511 in a size 20 if it’s difficult, or an 18 if I’m bagging.

7. To loosefeed or not?

Do you pick up your catapult and fire in some bait or not? In my book it all depends where you’re catching fish. If you’re only getting bites on the bottom then don’t be inclined to loosefeed, just rely on the groundbait to keep the fish there on the deck where they are easier to catch. You can top up with a small tangerine- sized ball of groundbait in the cupping pot whenever the swim starts to slow up.

However, if the fish are taking the bait on-the-drop, before the rig has a chance to fully settle, you might catch quicker by loosefeeding maggots or casters little and often. Use a lighter float and spread the shots out but bites will be harder to hit when the fish are moving about at various depths off the bottom.

An olivette is a must-have for roach when fishing floats of 0.75g or heavier, on the bottom

8. Use an olivette

An olivette weight is a great way of shotting a pole float. It’s compact and means you don’t have to attach loads of shot to the line in a huge bulk. Use an olivette for heavier pole floats of 0.75g (4 x18) and above (for lighter floats a group of shot is more versatile). I like an inline olivette fixed with two No.10 shot or Stotz either side. I’ll use a size slightly lighter than the actual weight of the float so that I can spread out three or four shot beneath it. An olivette is usually placed between 18in and 2ft away from the hook itself.

9. Lubricate your elastic

A bottle of pole elastic lubricant is useful with smaller-sized solid elastics. Applying it keeps the elastic working smoothly because it can stick and jar in the pole, causing lost fish on small hooks. It’s not so important with thicker hollow elastics and large diameter pole bushes. Squirt the lubricant into the thick end of the pole section and pivot it upwards so it runs down the pole. You can also pull the elastic out with the tip underwater to help it work.  

10. Entice a bite

Lifting the float out of the water and lowering it back down to settle again is a great way of bringing a quick bite when pole fishing for carp. It also works surprisingly well for roach, because it shows the bait to any nearby fish. You only need to bring the float 6in or so above the water’s surface, then gently lower it down again to a fishing position. Don’t simply let go of it and let it drop down. 

How to catch chub in winter

If you are looking to carry on fishing rivers and streams throughout the winter months there’s one fish that you should target and that’s the chub. Here’s a mass of fishing and bait tips, tactics and advice that is sure to help you catch plenty of chub – one of our most obliging cold water fish…

WHERE TO FISH

Chub can be found in almost every English, Welsh and lower-Scottish rivers and streams. They have bred well and many numbers of chub of decent sizes are targetable across the country with 100s of waters giving up 5lb specimens, and many prime rivers providing the angler with chub to over 6lb.

They can be found in deep and powerful rivers such as the Trent, Severn, Thames and Wye, through to tiny little backwaters that you could wade or even jump across. So there’s a high chance that you can find chub a short drive away from your home.

But we don’t have ever single stretch of water on this website, so why not ask at your local tackle shop to see if there’s flowing water near you where you can catch a chub or ten?

CHUB LOCATION

Once you have found a river or stream that holds chub, you’ll have to work out where would be the best place to fish, and that depends upon whether you are faced with a wide river or a smaller stream.

Chub tend to move around quite a lot on bigger rivers in the hunt for food, so you have a chance to draw chub into your swim with regular feeding, but chub on small rivers, streams and backwaters tend to hide in certain areas so a good understanding of watercraft will pay dividends to locating those fish.

Whether you are fishing a big river or a small stream, chub seem to love the same old features: Overhanging trees provide sanctuary and a place to launch an attack on passing prey. Barges and boats, and floating weed rafts provide the same cover. Undercut banks around the outer edges of sharp corners are a well-known chub hiding spot, as are marginal weeds and cabbages. You will also find chub tucked up behind streamer weed and rocks, behind and under bridge stanchions, and within the slack water alongside a crease in the river (where slack water meets fast water).

STATES OF THE RIVER

Although chub can be caught in a raging flood, that isn’t the best time to try to catch them. The very best time to catch chub – and all river species - is when the river is fining down after a flood. That’s the time when all the silt and sediment held in the river by a flood is swept away and the water clears again. This is when the fish will be able to see their food better, and they will need to move out of the small side streams and eddies where they took sanctuary from the raging torrent and head back into the main river to seek out food.

All other times when the rivers are running at normal pace with normal colour and good for chub too as the fish will be feeding and acting normally during these periods.

METHODS FOR SUCCESS

The three best methods for a successful river and stream chub fishing session are to use float or feeder or specialist methods. Pole tactics do work, but they never seem to get the same results as the other three methods mentioned.

Float tactics

Either a stickfloat, chubber, Avon or waggler trotted through a loosefeed and primed swim can bring lots of chub to the net on larger rivers. A constant stream of loosefeed maggots or casters will soon bring those chub to your swim where you can reap the rewards.

Prime places to try stickfloats, chubbers and Avons are straight sections of river known as glides. Better still are those straight areas where tributaries join the main river as here the fish will sit waiting fro food to wash by.

If there’s a row of moored boats on the far bank, or overhanging trees in a line, try casting a waggler towards them and run the float right alongside them. You’ll have to pay close attention to the amount and speed of line you pay out from the reel to ensure the float doesn’t start drifting away from the boats or trees/bushes, but get that right and you could be on for a decent catch of quality chub hiding underneath the features.

Leger tactics

Legering works well on big rivers through to tiny streams. It’s a great way to catch chub and can be incredibly productive so long as you use the right set-up.

Chub are very shy creatures and care must be taken not to spook the fish so although a large feeder filled to the brim with casters, maggots or hemp will work well on the River Trent, Wye and Severn, the same tactics will do more harm than good on a small stream or tributary. On those sort of waters a little Arlesey bomb would be best, swung in to the swim with a gentle plop so as not to disturb the fish.

When legering across a big river with a substantial flow you’ll need plenty of lead to hold the bottom and fish with the rod pointing skywards to keep as much line out of the water as possible, to prevent the flow knocking the feeder out of place.

The best quivertips to use will be carbon ones, and stiff ones too as they will stand a chance of remaining fairly rigid as the river current tugs on the mainline.

When tackling a small stream or tributary you will be able to use much more delicate tackle and more sensitive quivertips as both the flow and distance to be cast will be drastically reduced. On these rivers an 11ft Avon rod with the quivertip top section would be perfect.

You will also be able to touch leger and free-line your baits on smaller rivers. Touch legering involves holding the mainline between finger and thumb to feel for bites, while freelining involves dropping fairly weighty baits into likely-looking holes and letting the bait roll under its own weight under features and into deeper holes in the river bed.

Legering on small rivers and streams often requires stalking and moving swims quite a lot as you may only catch one chub from each swim so it’s best to travel light with just enough tackle in a rucksack and use a folding chair to sit on as these are much easier to carry than seatboxes.

Specialist tactics

Fishing for chub using specimen tactics is really easy. In fact, if you’ve ever fished for carp using bite alarms and semi-fixed bolt rigs you’ll know exactly what to do.

Basically this style of fishing is best done on bigger rivers and involves heavy leads, attached to the line using a semi-fixed set-up, and cast out and left until the chub takes the bait and hooks itself against the weight of the lead.

You’ll need to know how to hair-rig the baits as this technique tends to work much better than side hooked baits, and you’ll need a selection of heavy flat leads, some safety clips (available in most good tackle shops) and some braided hooklength material if you wish to camouflage your rig.

After casting out the rigs you will need to place the rods on bite alarms and set the reel’s free-spool mechanism to allow the fish to run with the bait.

The best rods to use for this style of fishing are Avon rods incorporating the float top section. You’ll be able to get away with using 1.25lb test curve Avon rods, but 1.5 or even 1.75lb test curve are slightly better as they offer better casting potential with the heavier leads needed for some rivers.

BAITS TO CATCH CHUB

One well known fact about chub is that they will eat just about anything from tiny bottom dwelling crustaceans to small silverfish. They really don’t care as long as these giant-mouthed fish get a meal.

Their almost compulsive instinct to snatch at anything that drifts past their lairs is great for us anglers in that we can use almost anything as bait to catch chub, but obviously there are some real firm favourites, and they are detailed below…

Lobworms

These are a classic bait for chub. Each time a river floods the extra water pushing downstream will scour away the river banks and nearby fields and wash lobworms into the river. Chub soon find them and devour them whole as they drift past, and that makes the giant lobworm a completely natural meal for a chub.

Lobworms are best hooked through the saddle using a size six hook. Half a lobworm should be hooked through the broken end using a size 12 hook.

Pellets

The fishmeal scent trailing from a large halibut pellet cannot fail to attract chub. The best pellets to use are large ones that require drilling with a nut drill so they can be hair-rigged and set so they just touch the bend of a size 8 hook.

The good thing about using a large drilled halibut pellet is that smaller species cannot take the bait while it’s sat at the bottom of the river.

Pellets are now becoming a very popular chub and barbel bait on well fished rivers such as the Trent, Wye and Severn and usually bring very swift results now that the fish are used to finding them on the bottom.

Cheese paste

This is a classic chub bait. A very smelly chunk of cheese paste is one of the very best small stream and river chub bait as it offers enough weight to be swung into the swim and rolled underneath weed rafts and under overhanging bushes right towards the noses of any waiting chub.

Luncheon meat

Another classic chub bait that can be fished either as cubes or torn chunks, on specialist or leger rigs is humble luncheon meat. You could use it straight from the tin, or tear it or cube it the night before fishing and flavour it with spices by coating and lightly frying it.

Maggots

A single, double or even a big bunch of maggots is one of the best trotting baits for chub. Simply loosefeed plenty of maggots well upstream of where you think the chub will be lying and allow them to drift into the swim, and follow them with your floatfished maggot hookbait. You’ll soon see the float go under as a large chub sucks up your wriggling bait.

Bread

A large chunk of bread flake can be fished upon a leger or a float rig. It’s buoyancy coupled with the bright colour makes the bait flutter enticingly over the river bed making a very attractive and visual bait that the chub will see for yards.

When fished with small handfuls of mashed bread (bread mixed with water and broken into pieces) this can be a very deadly combination on both large and small rivers.

Boilies

Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but boilies are definitely one of the best baits to use for really big chub since specialist anglers have been introducing them into river systems across the country.

Brown fishmeal based boilies tend to be the best, with Nutrabait’s Trigger a firm favourite among anglers hunting for a personal best chub.

As boilies are hard baits, they will need to be hair-rigged. See the link above to find out how to tie the knotless knot hair rig.

TACKLE FOR CHUB FISHING

Chub tend to be found among snags

You won’t need anything out of the ordinary when it comes to fishing for chub. The average size you are likely to encounter is around the 3lb mark, but the problem anglers face is that chub tend to be found among snags. This means that you should use fairly strong tackle to ensure that you land every chub that you hook.

Mainlines should be around the 6lb mark and you could fish the line straight through to your hook if you wish, or use a hooklength of around 5lb or more.

Float rods need to be fairly powerful to be able to control a hooked chub against the flow and stop it from reaching any weed, plus the rod needs to be long too. A 13ft, 14ft or even 15ft rod is perfect as they will give you excellent float control and plenty of leverage when controlling big chub near the net as they do tend to surge towards marginal snags at the end of the fight.

Leger rods should be powerful to combat strong flows and have robust carbon push-in quivertips for the same reason.

Use a size of hook to suit the bait you are fishing with, but remember to use strong hooks as chub can pull your string a bit and will quite easily straighten fine wire match hooks if you are not careful.

How to start pike fishing

There's something very exciting about fishing for big predatory fish with sharp teeth, which is why so many anglers enjoy 'piking' every year between the months of October and March (the pike season).

When the float starts to move off and disappear, or the indicator rises, you never quite know what size 'esox' could be on the other end, from a small jack to a 40lb crocodile. 

And the good news is that pike will take a bait in all weather, no matter how cold. Here's our guide to getting started...
 

WHAT BAITs catch pike?

There are two baits that will catch pike. The first is live or dead fish, the second is to use imitation baits that resemble fish or water creatures.

Both types of bait are as productive as each other – it depends on any given day which bait produces the most fish, but generally speaking fishing with artificial baits produces the greater numbers of pike, while real fish produce the larger pike.

Also, lure fishing for pike using artificial baits is the better method to adopt to locate the pike too because lure fishing, by its very nature, covers more water and therefore there’s more chance of your bait passing a hungry pike at some point as it’s being worked around the lake, river or canal.

What essentials do i need?

Forceps
A must have item of tackle for any predator angler. Those razor sharp teeth will cut your hand if you aren’t careful, and as they are so sharp it will bleed for a long time.

A pair of long-nosed forceps (generally around 12in long) are perfect for slipping between a pike’s jaws or up through its gill covers to remove hooks embedded in the jaw or mouth.

Wire traces
Pike teeth will easily cut through normal monofilament and braided hooklengths so to stop a fish from becoming tethered to treble hooks you must use a wire trace of at least 10is in length. That applies to both lure fishing and bait fishing methods. 

Wire cutters
Another must-have item of tackle that can be used to cut a wire trace cleanly if the need arises. They will come in extremely useful when a pike is hooked awkwardly or when a set of treble hooks become lodged within your landing net and you need to cut the wire to free the hooks.

Large landing net
An ordinary spoon landing net – the sort you’d normally use when fishing for general fishing – isn’t large enough for pike. You’ll need to invest in a large triangular specialist landing net to safely hold and cradle a large pike when lifting it from the water. A net having a strong 6ft handle coupled with folding 36ins arms will be large enough to hold specimen pike with room to spare.

First aid kit
Even the most experienced pike angler will receive cuts and grazes from the pike’s teeth and gill rakers when unhooking and landing pike. And those cuts don’t heal quickly so to save bleeding all over your rod, reel and clothing it’s best to carry a few plasters, antiseptic hand wipes and even a few tissues to help treat any wounds you may get.

Strong mainline
Both braid and mono are ideal for pike fishing so long as they are up to the job. If you intend fishing with a mono mainline then opt for a line of 12lb or even 15lb breaking strain, and if you’re intending to use braid, go for a 30lb breaking strain.

Powerful rods and reels
The type of rod and reel that you’ll need is determined by the style of pike fishing you want to do – lure fishing or bait fishing. But regardless of the style they will need to be quite powerful because pike are hard-fighters and can reach weights of over 30lb. You’ll find more in-depth info about these below…

Lure fishing tackle for pike

Lure fishing for pike is a very mobile and active technique that requires very little tackle. All you need is a rod, reel, a few trace wires, everything from the list above and a varied selection of lures. And that’s all.

Rods for lure fishing

They are sometimes called spinning rods, sometimes called lure rods and sometimes called plugging rods – they all perform similarly in that they have plenty of power through the middle to the butt and have flexible tip sections.

They are short rods generally between 6ft and 10ft of varying power. The power of a lure rod is indicated by the rod’s casting weight. On the blank of the rod you’ll find some figures such as 5-25g, 15-40g or 30-60g. Those are the optimum weight of lures that the rod will cast, so the higher the weight, the more powerful the rod will be. Normally, the longer the lure rod is, the more powerful it tends to be.

A great starting point for a beginner to pike fishing would be a rod having a length of around 8ft and a casting weight of around 15-40g as that will provide enough power to cast most general purpose lures and also have enough power to stop and control sizeable pike.

Reels for lure fishing

There are two trains of thought when it comes to picking the perfect lure fishing reel. Most anglers prefer the simplicity of a reliable fixed spool reel, while some prefer to use multiplier reels. We would strongly suggest steering away from multiplier reels if you are a newcomer to lure fishing as they are complicated to set up correctly and can cause a lot of problems when casting.

By far the best choice would be a small fixed spool reel in the 2500 and 3000 size. A compact front drag model is ideal as they are small and lightweight, but a rear drag reel will definitely suffice.

The right line

Given the choice between using mono or braid, there is only one clear winner – braid. This supple, ultra-thin material is the perfect choice because it has no stretch, unlike mono. This means that as soon as you begin winding the reel’s handle after casting, or as soon as you flick the rod tip down, your lure will move. This enables the angler to impart truly magnificent action upon the lure, making it jerk rapidly, flick over slowly, rise up gracefully and dive down rapidly.

What’s more, as braid has no stretch you will be able to feel any plucks upon the lure because braid has the unique ability to transmit indications from the lure to the rod tip.

And finally, braid is much thinner than mono when compared like for like. A 30lb braid will be many times thinner than a 30lb mono so you’ll be able to cast loads further with braid than you would with mono.

Trace wires for lure fishing

An incredibly crucial piece of kit that every lure angler should use as they prevent the fish biting through the line and trailing lures around in their mouths. Traces can be bought at very little cost, or they can be made at home to your own specifications using only a few components.

The perfect lure fishing trace wire should be supple, 10in long, 30lb breaking strain and feature a swivel at one end and a snap link at the other so you can change your style or size of lure in a second without having to re-tie a trace.

The right lures

There are literally thousands of different lures on the market – all manner of different shapes, sizes, weights, configurations and patterns. Some are plastic, some are metal, others are rubber while some are wooden. But whatever the make-up they are all designed to do one thing – imitate an injured fish or water creature to make the pike react, think it’s an easy meal approaching and snap at it.

Bait fishing tackle for pike

Again, strong tackle is key to successful bait fishing for pike, not only because the fish can be enormous and extremely powerful, but also because the baits required to catch the fish are quite large and heavy. This means that you’ll ideally need super strong rods to cope with the stresses and strains of casting such baits as a whole roach, half a mackerel or a sardine. Here’s a typical rundown of the tackle ideal for pike fishing with bait…

Rods for bait fishing

If you have a 2.5lb test curve carp rod – or two - you’re well on your way to being able to successfully tackle pike with baits. Carp rods are widely used by pike anglers who fish at close to medium range as a 2.5lb test curve carp rod is more than capable of casting a small fish bait such as a little roach, a small smelt, a 4in section of lamprey and such like.

But if you wish to use bigger baits and be able to cast a bait a long way then you’ll need proper pike rods that have test curves of 3lb. These rods will be able to launch baits a long, long way and that will allow you to cover a lot more water and therefore stand a higher chance of catching more pike.

Reels for bait fishing

Again, carp reels are okay for pike fishing. It’s the size of the spool that’s all important as you ought to be using either 12 or 15lb mono or 30lb braid as the mainline in order to cope with catching these powerful fish, often close to weed and snags.

A large free spool reel is perfect, but those extra-large big bit style specialist reels are even better because their spools are enormous. This means that line will peel off the spools really easily, creating very little resistance and therefore increasing the distance of your casts.

Traces for bait fishing

Again, these are absolutely crucial to prevent damage to fish and breakages. You could buy traces already made up or you could tie your own. They are really simple to create.

Bite indication 

There are two ways to achieve this. You could either floatfish or you could leger. Floatfishing will require specialist, highly buoyant balsa floats while legering requires bite alarms and drop-off indicators to clearly show when you have had a take.

There are two kinds of float used when predator fishing – those for presenting deadbaits on the bottom and those which suspend livebaits off the bottom. They are very different to one another.

The floats for deadbait fishing have swivels on the base and are very long and thin – they are often called deadbait ‘pencils’. Floats for livebaiting are short, fat floats that have a whole through the centre where the line passes. They are very buoyant in order to hold the bait off the bottom.

When legering it’s important to use a bite alarm coupled with a drop-off indicator. The alarm will provide an audible sound when you get a run and the drop-off indicator will tell you whether the pike has picked up the bait and swan away or towards you.

Unhooking pike

To remove the hooks from pike you will definitely need at least the following: a pair of long-nosed pliers, a pair of short pliers, an unhooking mat and the confidence to place your fingers within the pike’s mouth.

Removing the hooks from the gaping jaws of even the smallest pike can prove awkward, but not if you follow this step-by-step guide...

NOTE: The pike’s gill rakers are extremely delicate, and extremely sharp. Try to avoid touching them with either your hand or your forceps. Damaged gill rakers bleed profusely, putting the pike under undue stress.

When straddling a pike to unhook it pay attention to the fish. If it struggles while your hands are within the gill covers you will cut yourself. By placing your knees alongside the pike’s body you will feel when it is tensing and preparing to wriggle. Now’s the time to quickly remove your hand and fingers from the gill covers.

Here's how it's done...

1. After netting the pike, place it on a cushioned unhooking mat, turn it on its side and straddle it gently. Don’t sit on it!

2.

Put your fingers together and your hand flat. Work your hand up through the gill cover, keeping your hand pressed to the inside of the gill cover.

3. Keep your hand flat and gently prize open the pike’s mouth by pulling the gill cover outwards. This won’t harm the pike.

4.

Now find the hooks and use your forceps to remove them quickly. You may have to pass the closed forceps through the gill rakers to reach the hooks.

How to fish winter commercials

Here’s our extensive fishing guide to help you keep on catching on pole, waggler and feeder on commercial carp fisheries during the colder winter months.

It’s packed with handy hints, tips and advice that is sure to keep your float going under and your quivertip slamming around.

So, whatever style of fishing you prefer, take a good look through this in-depth guide and you’ll soon know exactly what changes you need to make to ensure you keep busy on the bank throughout November to April.

WHERE TO FISH

This is absolutely key to ensuring that you continue having fairly hectic sessions that will not only boost your confidence, but help keep you warm too as there’s nothing worse than sitting motionless for hours in damp and cold conditions!

Three key tips we can give you here:

Fish a commercial that you have fished during the summer.

Fish a commercial that’s well stocked with not only carp, but also roach, skimmer bream and chub if you can.

And choose a commercial that’s not too deep – average depth of 4ft with 2ft margins will be ideal.

Here’s the reasons why we suggest you follow those tips when picking a particular winter commercial water…

If you fish a certain venue in summer you will know where the lilies are and where any weed beds might well be. You’ll also know the depths of some swims so that will provide a lot of knowledge that will put you ahead of the game when picking a swim.

Carp will hold up within or very close to submerged lily stems and weeds during the winter – and that’s well worth remembering.

Picking a venue that’s heavily stocked with fish is an obvious one, but nevertheless some anglers keep on trying to catch from venues that are already difficult to fish in the summer – they don’t stand a chance when it’s cold!

The depth of the venue is key, and if there are shallower parts and deeper areas of around 4ft you are onto a winner because the fish may well be in the deeper water first thing in the morning (as the water will be warmest there) but then if it’s a sunny day with little wind the water will warm up significantly in the shallow areas and that’s where the carp will move during the afternoon.

PICKING THE RIGHT SWIM

Watercraft, past experiences in the summer and asking the right questions will all play an absolutely crucial role in finding the fish in winter.

When you arrive at the water, ask the bailiff or the owner where the fish were caught yesterday. It’s dead simple and it could put you on masses of carp.

If there’s no-one to ask, then watercraft and previous experiences come into play.

Watch the water closely to see any signs of life. Look for swirls, clouded water, bubbles – anything that could give away the presence of any carp. Even just the one small swirl at the surface could give away a huge shoal of fish as they pack together tightly during the winter so where you find one carp you’ll normally find masses of them.

Finally, past experiences will tell you where the lilies and weeds were during the summer. If you haven’t got anyone to ask and you see no signs of fish life, head for areas that used to be weedy as the carp won’t be too far away from those spots.

WATCH THE WEATHER

If you’ve got just the one day to go fishing and you’re going to go regardless, most of this section doesn’t count as you’ll not have a choice. But if you’ve got a week off and you could go any time during that break, choose your day wisely.

The very best time to go to a commercial carp water during the winter is after a few days of settled and mild weather. That’s when the water temperature will have risen and the fish will have become a little more active.

Note any direction of wind too. A southerly breeze is perfect as it brings with it milder temperatures and the promise of better sport.

If there is a wind blowing when you arrive at your lake, opt to fish with the wind hitting your back. Not only will you be more comfortable (as you can set up a brolly for protection) but the fish may well be sitting it out in the sheltered part of the lake as it will be warmer there.

We regularly use the internet for weather forecasts and there really is none better than Metcheck. It’s a free website that has provided us with near perfect forecasts for years.

THE BAIT TO TAKE

Less is more when it comes to commercial carp water fishing when it’s cold. Basically, you won’t need much bait, and below is a list of the typical feed and hookbaits that really work on a stillwater in winter and why. We don’t recommend you take them all – three feed baits will see you through a typical session.

Sweetcorn

Two tins will be enough. This sweet-scented bait is brilliant in the cold. Why? Because the smell disperses easily and will draw fish into your swim readily, plus the bright colour can be easily seen by fish. There’s no need to flavour it – just use it straight from the can. But remember to take your can home, or bin it properly. Carp, chub, bigger roach and skimmer bream love sweetcorn.

Fluoro pinkies

These brightly coloured mid-sized maggots are brilliant when it’s cold as they stand out well in the clear water, they don’t fill the fish up and all commercial fishery species are fond of them. One pint of fluoro pinkies should be more than enough for a day.

Worms

One of the very best attractors during cold weather is chopped worms. Dendrobaenas are by far the best for chopping up because they can be bought in bulk fairly cheaply, they emit lots of attractive juices and the worms are large enough to provide you with a multitude of different sized pieces to use on the hook.

The chopped worm pieces can be introduced by hand in the margins, cupped in over your pole line or added to your groundbait each time you fill the feeder up or throw a ball in.

Bread

A small chunk of bread flake works wonders on clear coldwater commercials. It stands out well and because of the lightness of bread, it flutters down to the bottom very slowly, ensuring that any nearby carp, roach or skimmer bream can see it and make a move to take it.

Bread is best fished in conjunction with a punch crumb groundbait, available from all good tackle shops. This groundbait needs mixing very carefully and it should be riddled after mixing to remove any large lumps.

Pellets

Both hard pellets and soft expander pellets will catch fish when its cold. If you do intend to use expander pellets on the hook, you should feed hard pellets as well to hold the fish in your swim.

Expander pellets are available pre-prepared, or you could simply pump them yourself.

The best feed pellets to catapult or cup in to your swim around your expander pellet hookbait are small ones – 4mm is about right during winter. The reason you should use smaller pellets is because they won’t fill the fish up so readily, and they break down quicker than large pellets to release a scent trail through the water.

Casters

These are well known fish-catchers when it’s cold. Half a pint of good quality casters (meaning a varied selection of light to dark colours) will be enough as they don’t wriggle into the bottom silt, so they won’t vanish out of your swim. Feed them very sparingly, or simply just use them as a change bait over the top of your loosefed fluoro pinkies or chopped worms.

Meat

Cubes of shop-bought luncheon meat work very well for winter carp. From half-centimetre to 2cm cubed chunks, they all work very well indeed. But care must be taken when fishing meat in winter as it is a very filling bait so only use chunks of meat on the hook and fish it over either small feed pellets (4mm or even micro pellets are best), or fish it over meat that has been cut into thin slices and pushed through a maggot riddle to form tiny morsels that can be squeezed into small nuggets and fed by hand, or introduced via a pole cup.

HOW TO FISH

There are a few fundamental changes you will need to take into account to ensure you keep catching throughout the winter, and they are all detailed right here…

Fining down

You may well have heard this phrase mentioned a lot when anglers talk of winter fishing. Basically it means whatever tackle you used in summer, reduce it for winter fishing.

If you used size 16 hooks in summer, use size 18 or even 20 in winter. If you used 0.14mm hooklengths in summer, use 0.12mm or even 0.10mm in winter. And straight wagglers should be replace with insert wagglers as they are more delicate to help spot tentative bites.

The same goes for pole floats too – use a slightly lighter rig than you would normally use in the summer, incorporating small micro shot rather than an olivette or bulk shot.

Quivertips need scaling down too - use the lightest glass tips you have to see those shy, gentle bites. You may even need a target board positioned at the tip of your rod so that you can see the bites.

Your pole elastic and reel mainlines can be reduced in strength too as the fish aren’t going to fight anywhere near as hard during the winter. No12 elastic maximum and 4lb mainline should do the trick on most commercials during the winter.

Swap power float rods for normal waggler rods, and Method feeder rods for straightforward leger rods.

Start on the bottom

If you are float fishing, always start your session fishing with your bait set overdepth as the fish are far more likely to be swimming around close to the bottom. As the session progresses you might get more bites if you use a shirt button style shotting pattern so that your bait falls gently through the bottom half of the water to get bites on the drop.

Feed very little

Tentative feeding is key in winter. Just a pinch of fluoro pinkies, casters or pellets, or three grains of sweetcorn is all it will take when you reach for your catapult or pole pot. And only re-feed your swim after you get a fish or you may end up simply filling the fish up with your loosefeed rather than catching it!

Search the water

Finding the fish is the hardest part of winter commercial fishing, and one of the best ways to find them is to use a leger rod and an Arlesey bomb. Create a simple leger rig, use a fairly light 2ft-long hooklength of around 0.12mm diameter high-tech line and a grain of sweetcorn on as size 18 hook.

Cast the rig out to a likely looking spot a fair distance from your peg and tighten up the line gently to create a slight bend in the quivertip. Now wait for 5 minutes to see if you either get a bite or spot a line bite.

Bites will be the usual ‘pull round’ of the quivertip, while line bites are quick plucks on the tip made by fish swimming into your submerged mainline.

If you start to see line bites that means there are fish in front of you, but they are somewhere closer than where you cast, so retrieve the rig and cast 10ft or so shorter than you did before.

Keep doing this until your rig lands amongst the fish and you start to get proper bites. And when you’ve found one carp, you’re very likely to find many more as they shoal together in winter.

Many match anglers use this searching technique during the winter, and may matches have been won using it too.

How to catch river chub

The chub is a wily old fox, and the bigger they get the more cunning they become. However, in the coldest of weather when all other species are refusing to feed on the river, chub will often be the only fish to oblige and put a bend in your carbon...if you get your tactics right.

Here’s our Quickfire guide to where you’ll find them on a small river and the key baits that you need to bag yourself a big old chub.

1. Mashed bread is a top feed for chub roving. Simply soak some stale bread in a bait bucket containing plenty water...

2. ...and squeeze a ball of mash into a golf-ball-sized lump.

3. Introduce your feed into likely looking swims on your stretch. The bread breaks up and creates a brilliant chub attracting cloud.

How to spod

For baiting up a carp swim when fishing at range there can be no better technique than spodding - and no better tool to use than a spod. Here is our guide showing you how and what you need to spod effectively…

What is a spod?

A spod is basically a cylindrical bait rocket with a buoyant nose cone. The spod is filled with bait - pellets, corn, boilies or particles – and is then cast into the swim.

The buoyant nose cone makes the spod flip end up in the water allowing it to deposit its payload on a sixpence every time.

Spods come in a variety of types and sizes, from the tiny Gardner Pocket Rocket through to larger models, like the Korda Skyliner spod that is capable of carrying almost half-a-pint of bait at a time.

Apart from their size difference, some spods have many holes in their side and some have none at all. The side holes help water flow when you’re retrieving the spod.

However, if you’re looking to spod maggots or very small items like hemp and micro pellets, it’s better to use a spod with few or no holes in the side.

Spodding is a method used by many carp anglers as it enables the angler to very quickly bait up a swim with light or small baits beyond catapult range.

However, if you do a lot of feeder fishing for bream and tench for example, it’s well worth investing in a spodding outfit.

Rather than making a dozen casts with a feeder in order to prime the swim, quicken the whole process by simply filling your spod with groundbait.

The tackle you'll need...

An ordinary 2.5lb or 2.75lb test curve rod coupled with a standard free spool reel loaded with 12lb line could just about cope with spodding a small amount of bait short distances, but to get the most from this deadly technique you'll need a special set-up.

Large-spooled big pit reels loaded with braided line and a strong mono shockleader are best as they will take the brunt of a powerful cast, yet the large spool and thin diameter braid will not slow the spod down as it flies.

The best rods are specialiy designed spod rods having test curves of around the 4lb to 5lb mark. These will easily be able to cope with the stresses of casting filled spods that could weigh in excess of 6oz - maybe even 10oz in some circumstances.

Great baits for spodding…

Boilies can be catapulted out, but if you want to get them in a tighter grouping, it’s better to spod them.

Another advantage of spodding boilies is that regardless of what size of bait you’re using, you can still get them 100-yards plus.

Pellets come in various types and sizes and it is always better to mix them in order to fool the fish. These should be spodded out and not catapulted. To add casting weight, dunk the spod under the water prior to casting.

Similar to pellets, the amount of different particles that you can use is legion. Again, as most particles are quite light, it pays to use a larger spod in order to give you a little bit more casting weight. Spods come in a variety of different shapes and sizes.

How to hit the same spot every time...

1. Cast out your marker float set-up or straight lead in order to find any areas of clean gravel or silt.
2. Once you’ve found the spot to fish over, cast an empty spod until you hit the marker float.
3. Now that you’re happy with your casting distance, place the mainline into the reel’s line clip.
4. Wind in the spod, fill it up with bait and cast towards the marker – making sure you hit the line clip.

QUICK TIP

After you have cast out your spod into the swim, leave it for a few seconds in order to allow the spod time to fully empty. Also, prior to retrieving the spod, make a strike; this is to ensure that the spod is completely empty.

How to catch bream from Fenland drains

Fenland angler Paul Goult loves watching a swingtip rise to the gentle tune of a big drain bream. Here he reveals how to fish for bream at his favourite Middle Level in Norfolk...

Fen drains are 350-year-old man-made waterways, cut out of the surrounding marshland so that it could be converted into agricultural land. They also help to prevent flooding. They can be found nationwide, but the most numerous are in the East Anglian Fens.

Many anglers dismiss drains as a waste of time because of their apparently featureless appearance. Nothing could be further from the truth! With huge shoals of roach and bream, specimen tench and some enormous pike and zander, drains can easily throw up a redletter day, especially for those anglers prepared to put in the time to locate the fish and perhaps prebait as well.

Fishing on the King’s Lynn AA controlled stretch of the Middle Level Main Drain, Paul Goult was here to show us the quality of fishing that the drains has to offer and to put the Fens back on the angling map. Having fished this stretch since he was 12 years old, Paul has more than enough insider knowledge, and armed with his trusted quivertip and swingtip rod, he set-off in pursuit of some Fenland bream dreams.

Why drains?

“I just love the challenge of the drains,” says Paul, “Especially if you’re prepared to put the time in.” This is one of the most important tips Paul gave us.

The very fact that most drains are fairly featureless means you have to focus more on the little that is there. For example, pump houses are excellent places to target. They cut out a gully in the bottom and oxygenate the surrounding water – a classic fishholding feature. Other features worth targeting are lily pad beds or reed fringed banks. Another feature that can be excellent, especially for bream, is any spot where lines of gravel cross the drain – here the bottom can be heavily contoured. These spots tend to be rich feeding grounds, very attractive to all manner of species. Such areas can be difficult to find, but with the help of a local angler or a local tackle shop you will soon be put in the right direction.

Anywhere that was a hot spot in targeting today. Bream are creatures of habit, and tend to frequent the same places year in, year out.”

“The best time to target the huge bream shoals is after they have spawned – early July onwards, up to around about mid-October, just before the first frosts,” says Paul. As for the best time of day, during the summer Paul starts his sessions early in the morning soon after first light. As the colder nights set-in, you dont have to get up quite so early.

Here, a 10am start is all that’s required.

Tactics

Tactics on a drain can vary considerably depending upon the species that you’re targeting. For this session Paul had his sights set firmly on bream and so was looking to lean on a leger approach. After catapulting in six balls of groundbait, he generally starts with a simple bomb rig, combined with his trusty swingtip rod – a little used tool these days. With this method, Paul will also continue to fire two or three balls into the swim every hour. If the bream are being a bit awkward however, Paul will swap over to a feeder rig. “This can be a great way of pulling the fish in,” says Paul, “Especially when they’re really having it!”

Unlike a canal, most drains are deep, around about 13ft-14ft, with very steep sides. Due to this depth, the casting of a feeder or bomb won’t tend to spook the shoal, even if you’re casting every five minutes. This is further helped in that all drain fish are wild, with most having never seen a bait before.

Fishing the tip

Swingtip fishing these days has sadly become a bit of a forgotten art, but there is simply no bite indication system more sensitive – a belief strongly held by Paul. “I was brought up fishing the tip. It’s a fantastic method and much more sensitive than even the lightest of quivers. The other advantage is that the bites are unmissable, as the fish feels no resistance,” he says.

One of the main problems when bream fishing is line bites. This is amplified when the shoal is particularly large. With a quivertip it’s easy to mistake line bites for actual takes. This can lead to foulhooked fish and a spooked shoal. The advantage of the swingtip is that it increases the time for a bite to develop, particularly when using long tips like Paul.

“With a line bite, the tip may rise half way up and then come back to rest,” says Paul. “If it is a genuine take, the tip will rise all the way to the top and the rod will start to shake. Now is the time to strike!”

How do I fish the swingtip?

End tackle: Generally used with a straight leger set-up. The leger itself needs to heavy enough to avoid tangles and wraparounds if the tip bounces on the cast. Therefore look to use a lead of around about 1oz-11 ⁄2oz.

Set-up (A): The correct positioning for the tip is 20 degrees from the vertical, with the end of the tip just touching the water. This allows the tip just enough movement to indicate drop-back bites as well as forward takes.

Casting (B): Swingtips can be difficult to cast for the novice, but with a little practice it soon becomes second nature. Before making the cast, look to see that everything is clear and that the lead is hanging from the rod tip. Once the lead hits the water, keep the line slack to allow the lead to fall straight down. Keeping the line taut will swing the lead out of position.

Paul’s tackle

FOR his session today, Paul is using both a swingtip rod and a quivertip rod.

The swingtip rod is 12ft in length. This is fairly long for a swingtip rod but ideal for the drains because it allows you to reach over nearside weeds and to pick up line quickly on the strike – some of these drains require casts of 40 yards or more.

The tips that Paul uses are also longer than standard. “I prefer longer tips,” says Paul, “Because they allow you to read line bites more easily and allow more time for the bite to develop.”

One disadvantage of using a longer, larger swingtip is that they are more difficult to cast. It is therefore necessary to use a larger bomb than normal to avoid the tip swinging back on the cast and cracking off.

Paul’s quivertip set-up is slightly heavier than an average bream set-up, being a Preston Innovations Carbonactive 12ft feeder rod with the medium tip inserted. This is rated at around 2oz. “Slightly heavier tips are needed on the drains,” explains Paul.

“When the drain is run off, it’s surprising how much movement there is. Combine this with a little wind and it soon becomes obvious that a 1oz-11 ⁄2oz tip is just too light.”

Prebaiting

As drains tend to be relatively unfished these days, it’s a good idea to formulate a plan of attack. The first time that you target a particular swim, it’s always a good idea to prebait in order to pull the shoal in. Generally Paul prebaits a couple of times before fishing. “I’ll prebait one night, then two nights later, looking to fish the following morning.”

When prebaiting a swim on the drains, don’t be shy. The bream shoals can be huge and it won’t take long for them to eat half-a-dozen balls and move on. Paul balls in around 12 kilos! “For prebait bait I use pure brown crumb. During the session I add 25 percent Van Den Eynde Pro Gold. To this I also add a pint of casters, half a kilo of Dynamite Baits 4mm trout pellets and two tins of sweetcorn.”

1. Pour the sweetcorn and juice from its can into a polythene bag.

2. Add a few squirts of your chosen colouring or flavouring.

3. Powdered colouring can also be added – you only need half a teaspoon for a can of corn.

4. Blow into the bag, agitate the corn, and leave in the fridge overnight.

Additives

The addition of a bait additive to your mix can give you a great edge. Bream tend to have a very sweet tooth and with this in mind, Paul likes to add Sensas Aromix Bremes into his groundbait mix.

Around one third of a bottle is added to the water and mixed prior to being added to the groundbait.

“Another additive that I rate very highly,” he says, “is Van Den Eynde sweet liquid molasses. It’s a fantastic addition to groundbait and also a great additive to use with sweetcorn.”

How to catch from commercials in winter

Temperatures are dropping, the water’s getting cold and the fish are getting lethargic, but you shouldn’t. Even if there’s ice in the margins of your local commercial water you will still catch, but only if you fish intelligently and accurately.

Some anglers will tell you to avoid stillwaters when it’s cold, claiming that it’s best to tackle flowing water, but this isn’t always the case. Fish might at times, feed better in flowing water when it’s cold – they have to replace energy lost when battling against the flow – but there may be only a few fish in your river swim. Pick a swim on a commercial carp water and there could be literally thousands of fish in front of you. If you follow our guide to catching in the cold you will be able to tempt a lot of them to feed, be it roach, chub, skimmers or even decent-sized carp.

In this, the first of a three-part series, we detail the most productive float and feeder rigs, the most productive baits and the best swims to fish when it’s cold, plus detail some of the experts’ top tips for cold-water commercial fishing.

The best swims

Below is an overhead view of a typical commercial carp fishery. It features an island, overhanging trees and variations in depth. We have shown a typical winter wind, one that blows cold air from the north-east. The passage of the sun, as it rises in the east and settles in the west, has been marked on the diagram too. Taking the wind, any shelter from the trees, banks or island, the passage of the sun and the depths into account, we can figure out which swim offers the best chance of catching using either float or feeder tactics. Here’s a run-down of each swim, detailing whether it’s worth fishing or not and why...

Swims 1 and 2

THESE could be decent float or feeder swims. There’s a good depth immediately in front of you, plus the wind is blowing over your shoulder so the water will be calm, allowing you perfect float presentation. The sun will also gradually warm the water of these swims from mid-day onwards.

Swim 3

THE water in front of you here is likely to be rippled, plus it’s only 3ft deep between the margins and the island making floatfishing difficult. But look to the right of the island and there’s 4ft, so a feeder or straight lead cast to this slightly deeper water may well pay off.

Swims 4 and 5

HERE the water is likely to be pretty windswept, plus there’s not a great depth between the margins and the island. Fishing here will be tough in these conditions. On a calm day, though, you may catch on a straight lead or small feeder cast into the shallower water by the island as this 2ft deep water will warm quickly in the sunshine.

Swims 6, 7, 8 and 9

IF YOU are brave enough to fish into a cold wind, these swims might prove very productive for you. The water behind the island will be sheltered and calm, plus the sun hits this part for most of the day. You could easily fish these swims with waggler or feeder tactics. In the afternoon the water here will have warmed slightly – especially close to the island where it’s shallow – so you may do well fishing tight to the island or at the bottom of the 3ft ledge surrounding it.

Swim 10

HERE’S a very interesting swim. In a wind it may prove uncomfortable as the breeze will hit you head on, but look closely at the depths in front of the peg. There’s 4ft on the float line, and a 2ft plateau alongside the island. The 4ft deep water will be heavily rippled, but it may hold many fish as it’s deep. Here a long, large and straight waggler fished well overdepth may pay off. The water alongside the island will be sheltered and it will gradually warm throughout the day. Here a leger rig could

account for carp and chub.

Swims 11 and 12

IF YOU can locate the deeper water and you are happy fishing with a wind hitting you in the face, these swims could prove extremely productive when fishing a leger rig. A single grain of sweetcorn presented on a running rig and cast to various parts of the lake will eventually find fish, and once you have located a shoal try a small maggot feeder cast to the same spot.

Swim 13

UNLUCKY for some, swim 13 has good potential. The deepest part of the lake lies directly in front of you so again try a leger rig in this deeper water to locate fish tucked up at the bottom. But look to your right and you will find sheltered and shallow water alongside those trees that will become gradually warmer as the day progresses. Here an insert waggler, fished at full depth, could account for numerous roach, chub, skimmers and carp that will tend to move into the warmer water in the afternoon.

4 top cold water rigs

Here are the four top running-line rigs you should be using when tackling commercial waters during the colder months...

Simple running leger rig

THIS incredibly simple leger rig is easy to construct and it is absolutely deadly for locating carp. Many match anglers use it with a single side hooked or hair-rigged grain of sweetcorn, casting the rig to various parts of the lake trying to find the carp. Once they spot the bright yellow, sweetly scented corn they find it hard to resist.

Use a 4lb to 6lb breaking strain main line and thread on an Arlesey bomb followed by a rubber bead. Take the main line and fold it over and tie a double overhand knot to create an eight-inch loop. Using the same knot, tie a tiny loop in the end of the larger loop. This is used to attach your hooklength.

When a fish picks up the bait and moves away with it, the line will pass through the swivel of the bomb. When the loop passes right through the swivel the fish will feel the resistance and it should bolt off, hooking itself as it does so.

Use a strong and reliable hook, in a size to suit the number of sweetcorn grains you are using – a size 16 suits one grain, while a 14 suits two. Your hooklength needs to be robust too; try a 0.12mm (around 3lb) high-tech line.

Maggot feeder rig

THIS set-up is ideal for all species and unlike the running leger rig, this is best cast to the same area and left in the swim for quite some time. It’s easy to tie – use the same method as the running rig – but replace the straight lead with a blockend feeder.

As the fish won’t be feeding so avidly in the cold water, it pays to decrease the amount of feed going into your swim. You could either half-fill the feeder to introduce fewer morsels, but a half-full feeder empties very quickly. An alternative is to tape up the vast majority of the feeder’s holes and cram it full of maggots. This slows the escape rate of the baits, meaning that you can leave the rig in the water for a long duration, safe in the knowledge that the swim will be fed constantly.

Flavoured maggots – those given a coating of spices – might help in your quest for a good bag of cold water fish as most species respond to the strong scent drifting through the water.

You will have to scale down your terminal tackle when using this rig. A size 20 or 18 hook is ideal, coupled with 0.08mm or 0.1mm (11 ⁄2lb or 2lb) hightech hooklength material.

Calm-water float rig

DURING winter fish don’t bite as freely as they do when it’s warm. Quite often, bites can be mere knocks on the float. This means that you need to use the most sensitive set-up you can, and using a sensitive set-up is easily possible when fishing in calm water. A delicate insert waggler is called for in these circumstances. The slender sight tip can be dotted down to a mere pimple so that the merest touch of the bait is registered on the float.

When fishing with this style of float it pays to plumb up carefully and set your rig so that the bait just touches the bottom. Once the rig settles, the main line will be straight from float to bait, therefore a fish only has to sniff the bait and the float tip will dip.

Place a small bulk of shot more than halfway down the rig and follow this with a series of micro-shot. The bulk will push the bait down to the bottom quickly and the micro-shot will provide a natural fall of the bait in the last few inches of water.

In calm conditions it is possible to fish this rig with your line on the surface; doing this gives you a much faster strike.

Rippled-water float rig

WHEN the wind blows, the water will be rippled and there may be a strong undertow. In these conditions you will need to use a float rig that won’t be dragged off line. A very long, straight peacock waggler is required. The rig needs to be fished overdepth, with anything up to 3ft of line on the bottom to ensure that the float and the bait remain stationary in your swim. This rig works best when fishing over clean bottoms.

Use the longest and the thickest waggler you have as this ensures that the shot locking the float is set well under the water and away from surface drift. Place a reasonable bulk of shot below half-depth and follow this with a series of micro-shot, like No8s.

Set the float so that around an inch protrudes and start fishing the rig 12 inches overdepth. You may well find that the rig drifts through the swim, with the float dipping slightly and then popping up as the hook snags slightly on bottom debris.

The dipping of the float cannot be helped, but you can add further depth to the rig to anchor it in one position. You will find that you will still get sail-away bites, even with up to three feet of line on the bottom.

Sinking your main line will also help keep the float stationary.

Top fish tempters Some baits that typical commercial fishery species will accept, even on the hardest days...

Baits commonly associated with huge summer commercial carp fishery hauls don’t have the same effect when used during winter. Take paste, for example. Paste is a phenomenal warm-weather bait that accounts for incredible carp hauls, but it never seems to work in winter. Chum Mixers, bread and high oil-content trout pellets are the same.

Carp won’t readily feed off the top when it’s cold and the oils within trout pellets won’t disperse in ice-cold water.

MAGGOTS

During the summer maggots can be a frustrating bait to use on a mixed species commercial water; they are often taken by small silver fish long before a carp, tench or bream has chance to find them. But in winter the tables turn. These tiny creatures make a great cold-water bait that carp, chub and skimmer bream simply adore. They are small enough not to overfeed the fish, plus the protein content is high compared to the size of bait. They should be fed very sparingly to ensure constant interest in your swim. Finally, choose your maggot colour carefully – red or fluoros work best.

CASTERS

The story behind casters is very similar to maggots. They are often smashed to smithereens by small fish during the summer, but feed them sparingly and fish a single caster well overdepth and you stand a very high chance of latching into a proper fish. Carp are suckers for the crunchy shell and high protein content within the bait. Also, not only do casters make great baits when used as feed and as hookers, they also combine very well with chopped worms for chub, carp, quality roach, perch and bream – they find the scent too irresistible to ignore. You need to store them as you would in summer, in just enough water to cover all the baits so they don’t take on air and become floaters.

WORMS

Unlike perch, chub and bream, carp rarely seem to respond well to worms when it’s warm; they prefer more substantial baits. But feed a helping of chopped worms – dendrobaenas are best – when it’s cold and you stand a very high chance of rousing carp from their cold-water slumber. Take a small handful of worms, rinse them thoroughly in the mesh of a fine landing net head or riddle and chop them into fine pieces with scissors. The mush can be fed via a feeder or introduced by hand at close range. The scent will disperse quickly, drawing fish in. Fish half a worm over the top and you are most likely to tempt perch first, quickly followed by larger carp, chub and bream.

HEMP

Cooked hempseed isn’t a great commercial-water hook bait, but it is a superb fish attractant. Problem is, many commercial waters ban the use of particles like hemp, but if it is allowed it is certainly worth catapulting a good helping around your float rig. It’s the scent that oozes from the small back seeds that will draw-in roach first, then carp and chub. Bream and perch don’t really respond to hemp, but they might respond to other fish that have been drawn-in by the smell. A small piece of meat, a worm or a grain of sweetcorn presented over the seeds could prove extremely effective.

CARP PELLETS

You will notice that we have classed carp pellets as a top winter bait. Those darker, trout pellets that contain a lot of oil are not listed purely because the oils will not disperse in very cold water so they lose their effectiveness. Vegetable-based carp pellets disperse their scent easily in cold water, plus they provide the fish with ample nutrients. Drip-feed a few sinking pellets over your float and fish a softened Expanda pellet over the top, or a hard carp pellet that has been attached to the hook using a bait band. Pellets won’t just account for carp though – bream, tench and chub respond to them too; you may even catch the odd quality roach on them.

MEAT

Here is another great year round bait that accounts for most of our larger native stillwater species. Standard shop-bought meat will work through the winter, but you cannot beat a torn section of flavoured meat, especially a piece that has been heavily flavoured with strong spices. The intense flavour seeps through the cold water attracting nearby fish, especially if the meat is presented over a small bed of small carp pellets or a bed of finely-chopped meat. The easiest way to achieve this is to slice the meat into half-centimetre strips and then push the strips through a riddle. You will end up with thousands of tiny segments of meat that can be squeezed into small balls and thrown right over your float.

PINKIES

Like maggots, these baits are often frustrating to use in summer as the smaller fish intercept them before the larger carp, chub, bream and tench. But in winter the tables turn. Try casting a couple of fluoro pinkies, presented overdepth on a size 18 hook, to various parts of the lake. These brightly-coloured baits stand out like a sore thumb, tempting fish to intercept the bait as it falls. Leave the bait in the swim for at least five minutes and then re-cast to a separate area, searching for fish all the time. Once you have cast among a shoal you are very likely to gain a bite, and once you gain one bite you ought to cast to the same area as you may well catch more.

SWEETCORN

Forget to put a tin of sweetcorn in your tackle bag and you are missing out on a great winter catch. Sweetcorn is the finest winter bait because it stands out well, it smells great and, being totally natural, the scent disperses easily and quickly to the noses of the fish. A grain of hair-rigged or side hooked sweetcorn presented on a running-leger rig is a winning setup. Simply cast it to various spots around the lake and you will eventually find a tightly packed shoal. Once you find the fish, continue casting to the same spot and more will follow.

How to catch silverfish shallow using the strangest pole fishing rig ever

John Weeden’s silverfish pole fishing tactics and the pole fishing rigs he uses really are bizarre!

Incorporating a rig with a three-foot pole ‘float’, the Maver match ace regularly takes roach bags well in excess of 30lb.

Crude-looking, highly unconventional, downright strange, but devilishly effective when it comes to catching rudd and roach, John’s three-foot float rig is actually a yard-long length of greased monofilament that floats and provides resistance-free bite indication when fishing up-in-the-water.

Having been invented and used to devastating effect in the 1960s and 70s by London Association Anglers who’d use greased line rigs for snatching bleak on venues like the River Lea and Thames, John has revived the tactic, putting it to use on today’s modern commercials.

Used for catching any fish that is feeding up-in-the-water, John has landed everything from roach and rudd – his best day being 63lb taken from Gold Valley Lakes, Hampshire – through to skimmers, chub and even carp, the best of which weighed more than 10lb.

John told us: “It’s a tactic that I saw being used nearly 40 years ago and it has been a little edge that I have kept in my back pocket ever since.

“If I am in a match and, for whatever reason, the carp aren’t feeding confidently, I have employed the old greased line trick and more often than not walked to victory with a bulging bag of silverfish.”

To witness John’s bizarre three-foot pole float in action, Features Editor Mark Parker, joined the ex-Kings Cross lad on the banks of the beautiful Bridge Farm Fishery, at Litcham, near Kings Lynn to witness a day of greased line fishing that he wouldn’t forget...

It’s so very simple, yet so very effective...

With a deft flick of the wrist, John’s top-three pole section propelled the six-foot rig out into the swim.

In similar fashion to a great fly angler casting out a team of flies to a wary rising trout, John nimbly held the pole’s top kit at two-o’clock, allowing the rig to land softly on the surface of the lake, before lowering the top kit to just below horizontal – primed and ready to strike at any movement.

The three-foot length of line – smeared in a thick coating of bright orange bristle grease with an array of small loops tied in it every six inches – looked wholly alien as it lay on the surface of the pool.

Hurling a pinch of maggots round the end of the floating line, the countless swirls and oily vortexes on the lake’s surface indicated that John had the fish feeding, and feeding hard.

Moments later, and in an instant, the length of curly orange line pulled bow-string tight, before it slid beneath the surface.

A flick of the wrist was all it took to strike the hook home into yet another one of Bridge Farm’s healthy roach.

Swinging the fish to hand, John rapidly unhooked the plump five-ounce fish, before repeating the process once again.

Watching John closely for around 30 minutes, I noticed that I had started to involuntarily rock back and forth in time to his casts and strikes, so fluid and quick was the momentum of his fishing.

Shaking myself out of the angling-induced daze, I set to work quizzing John about this highly unusual, yet devastating silverfish tactic.

More years than I’d care to remember…

Having grown up in the ‘smoke’, the young John and his mate, the now prolific match angler Terry Dalgarno, used to regularly travel on the train from their Kings Cross home to the River Lea, in order to watch the great matches of the day.

Here, the two young aspiring anglers would spend hours closely watching angling legends like Dickie Carr, Bill Bullock and Ade Scutt as they went head-to-head in large 200-peg matches that stretched for miles along the banks of the Lea as it wound its way through north London and eventually into the Thames.

“We could never afford to fish ourselves, so we’d sit behind the anglers that we looked up to, soaking in what they did and how they did it,” said John, as a wistful look of far off fondness crossed his face as he recalled age-old memories.

“They were all superb, but it was Ade Scutt who was the true master of greased line fishing.

“In those days they used to use lengths of invisible mending thread, rather than a section of high-tech pole line which had yet to be invented. But it fitted the bill perfectly.

In fact, I’ll still use invisible mending thread on occasion, even now. The trouble is that it is nylon with a breaking strain of around 1.5lb – ideal for bleak, but too light for commercial pools.

“You’ve got to remember that in the 60s and 70s tackle was very crude.

“Small fish, like bleak, would often reject the bait if they felt the weight of the float. A greased line rig offers these fish a totally resistance-free presentation and it was the real thinking anglers like Ade, Bill and Dickie that really pushed the boundaries, looking for alternative products to employ in order to catch these previously uncatchable fish.”

Since these early beginnings, John has converted the old tactics by using modern lines and has won more matches with just silverfish than he’d now care to remember.

His best result to date is a 63lb bag from Hampshire’s Gold Valley Lakes as well as plenty of 30lb and 40lb nets both in matches and during pleasure sessions.

And the real beauty of the tactic is that it’s so simple.

The greased line rig

Fished ‘whip-style’, with only an elasticated top three kit and a line long enough to swing any smaller fish to hand, John’s greased line rig will catch any fish that is willing to feed up-in-the-water.

The shorter you fish, the easier it is. He further simplifies his approach by not even plumbing up. He simply casts out the rig, feeds a few maggots and catches fish.

The elastic is a 5-8 Maver Match This Dual Core threaded through the whole top kit and set to fish quite soft. Having a hollow elastic gives John a forgiving set-up for catching silvers, while it still has a bit of backbone if a larger fish takes his maggot hookbait.

The mainline is 0.14mm (4lb 2oz) Maver Genesis Extreme II mono.

John ties small overhand loops into the line along a three foot length.

“The reason for the loops is so that I can see the line much easier,” John explained.

“When you cover these small loops with a thick smear of fluorescent orange pole bristle grease, the rig stands out brilliantly on the surface of the lake, even in a heavy ripple.

“It also allows me to see the bites develop, as each loop gets pulled under the surface. However, most of the time, the bites are so positive you don’t get a chance to see bites develop all that well!”

At the very end of the looped section, John attaches his small 12-inch hooklength.

This is 0.14mm, 0.12mm or 0.10mm depending upon the size of the fish that he is catching on any given day.

When it comes to hooklengths, John thinks the heavier that you can get away with is best.

A short length of mono has very little tensile strength compared to longer lengths, so you need to make a compromise somewhere.

Also, John will quite often catch well over 200 fish in a day, so the heavier the hooklink the fewer problems you’ll have and the less often you will have to change it.

On the hooklength, John will place two tiny number 13 shot.

These will generally be equally spaced, although he will move them up or down the hooklink depending whether the fish want a slower or more rapidly descending bait presentation on the day.

The hook is a size 18 Maver Match This MT Series 3.

“The two shot simply help the hooklink to sink effortlessly,” said John.

“This allows me to present my hookbait just 12 inches below the surface.

“This is an ideal area for catching fish. Over the years I’ve found that the larger, more aggressive roach tend to sit and feed higher in the water so they get at the food before their smaller cousins.

“Combined with regular casts and even more regular feeding, I very quickly get into fish.

“The hook is big enough to land larger fish, while not being too big to hinder overall presentation.

“But even though these fish are in a feeding frenzy just under the surface, it doesn’t mean that they are suicidal.”

When is a float not a float?

At the pole end of the rig, just before the strange, three-foot looped section starts, John attaches a small piece of plastic.

On one rig, this is a cut down section of plastic disgorger. On another, it is a small white plastic lolly stick which originally came from his kids while the family was on holiday in Turkey.

“It doesn’t really matter what you use, as long as it floats,” John explained.

“Even though this looks like it should be the rig’s float, it is only for casting weight and to help prevent the rig tangling on the cast. Even though it floats, you never watch it for your bite indication.

“It is the three-foot length of looped and greased line that you need to watch.

“When the greased line tightens and submerges is when you should strike.”

Baits and feeding

When it comes to hookbaits, John uses maggots, but John isn’t too fussy when it comes to free offerings.

His first choice is maggots as they complement the hookbait, although the tactic also works superbly with loosefed hempseed as well as regularly fed small balls of light, sloppy groundbait. Something like Van Den Eynde’s Supermatch or Special are among the best as they form a cloud in the water, while providing very little substantial food to eat.

For hookbait, John tends to use maggots, which he threads up the shank of the hook. This helps to mask the hook as well as making the set-up more robust.

By hooking a maggot this way, he can take a few fish before having to change the hookbait.

“This is one of the reasons I like to use more robust baits, like maggots or hemp,” John told me.

“Softer hookbaits like casters, which roach love, can be pulled off the hook without a bite registering, even on a greased line rig.

“With maggots, especially ones threaded on to the hook, you can use the same hookbait to take a number of fish.

“Although not allowed in matches, one of my favourite dodges to avoid having to re-hook all the time, is to use a plastic maggot.

“The fish are in frenzy and will readily take anything that looks like food, as long as it is well presented.”

Feeding-wise, John will easily work his way through two pints of maggots in a session.

He is not looking to feed loads, but he is intent upon getting a constant stream of food raining through the swim.

Between eight to 10 grubs thrown around the end of the rig every 30 seconds is ideal to keep the fish actively searching the upper layers and feeding confidently.

To throw the fish off balance, he will often throw in a bit of hemp, too – perhaps every sixth or seventh feed – to pick off the larger roach which adore seed.

Greasing the swim

Fishing two swims over the day, John constantly drip feeds each one, taking between five and six fish off each line before swapping to the next. This keeps fish coming all day and prevents plundering just one area to depletion.

By flicking, feeding and then striking as the orange line straightened and sunk, John was steadily and very, very easily putting together an enviable bag of silvers while many of the surrounding anglers were struggling to get any bites at all as they fished conventionally on the bottom.

The total lack of resistance offered by the greased line meant that the shy-biting silverfish took his hookbait without hesitation.

After four hours, we decided to call it a day and return the fish.

Lifting the keepnet out of the water to take a shot of the finished catch, the sound was deafening as two keepnet ringfuls of roach noisily flapped their annoyance at being lifted briefly out of the water.

The result had to be seen to be believed – a net well over 30lb was sitting comfortably in the base of John’s keepnet.

As a great man once said: “History is not what you thought, it is what you can remember,” and it seems that John’s formative years watching and remembering how some of the sport’s legends fished has rewarded him in spades – if not silver. IYCF

How to catch gravel pit pike

Nationwide gravel extraction is big business. But once the aggregate extraction stops, these huge holes are flooded, landscaped and stocked, making fantastic fishing environments. Deep, clear and very rich, they regularly produce specimens of all species. And although no two pits are alike, they all have one thing in common – large pike. Here find out what it takes to catch one of these magnificently marked fish...

Where to find pike in gravel pits

Location is all-important when pike fishing. Pike are predators, so to catch them you need to be guided by where the small fish are. Prey equals pike. Finding the prey fish should be foremost in any successful pike angler’s mind and there are a number of items and features that you should be looking out for. Gravel pits have features both above and below the water line and all can be attractive to fish. Some of the most obvious features are:

Gravel bars and plateaus

These break up the topography of the bottom. On large, windswept pits, the sides of bars and the tops of plateaus will build up food deposits, attracting smaller fish. Pike will tend to patrol around the base of such features, ambushing the shoal fish above.

Islands

Island margins catch wind-swept food also attracting roach, bream and tench.

Feeder streams

The areas in and around these streams tend to be welloxygenated and well coloured as a result of the bottom being stirred up. It’s highly attractive to shoal fish and an ideal place to put a bait.

Reed beds

Pike are very fond of reed beds as they’re ideally camouflaged against the background.

Headlands

From an anglers point of view these features are very important as they allow you to command a great deal of water. The more water you cover the better your chance.

Marginal shelf

This is the most prominent feature on any pit and the pike will tend to lie at the bottom of them. Pike’s eyes are on top of their head and so find it easier to look up in order to ambush their intended meal.

Bouys

Placed by sailing clubs, the attachment ropes collect algae, which attracts food fish, which equals pike. Play hooked fish hard around buoys. If the pike wraps your line round the rope, you’ve got no chance!

Landing stages

Mostly made of wood, they require a stealthy approach to avoid spooking your quarry.

Deep water

In times of severe cold, deep holes will provide shelter for bait fish as due to the lake’s thermocline the water tends to be slightly warmer deep down.

Snags

Snaggy areas such as fallen trees are ideal holding spots for all kinds of species and not far behind is ‘ol Esox’ – the pike.

Key factors when gravel-pit pike fishing...

Wind

If the pit you fish is devoid of those aforementioned features there are a few other location tricks you can try. All fish, but especially roach, are prone to following a strong wind. If the wind has been blowing in the same direction for a few days, then it’s a good idea to start in the corner that it’s been blowing into. Sitting in the teeth of a cold wind isn’t pleasant, but it’s where the fish will be. Calm days are a little tougher. The north-east corner would be the best place to start as this is the bank that the warm south-westerly winds blow into.

Under pressure

Atmospheric pressure is another important factor. Low pressure (less than 1000 millibars) is better for dead baiting, high-pressure is better for live baiting. These rules aren’t set in stone, but they are a good rule of thumb. Pressure level changes through the day are also worth recording. If there is a sudden rise or fall of pressure it can stimulate the pike into feeding. It can also just as quickly turn them off. It pays to keep a record of catch times and the level of atmospheric pressure to see if a pattern emerges over the season.

Temperatures

Pike will readily take a bait in even the coldest of conditions, as they need to feed regularly. Times to avoid are periods of sudden change, if there is a sudden overnight frost, for example. As long as the temperature remains stable for a few days the pike will adjust and start to feed again.

Blinded by the light

Another contributory factor is light levels and waters react very differently with many showing marked feeding times. Many pike feed at first light and through the morning depending on how overcast the day is. A secondary feeding spell is often at last light too.

By keeping a record of catch times, temperature, light levels and pressure, you’ll quickly build up a feeding pattern.

Prebaiting

Prebaiting for pike will definitely help to put more fish on the bank. Before this feature, Ian had been prebaiting a swim every morning for just over a week.

There is no need to bait every day, but it needs to be regular enough so that the fish get used to seeing and feeding on free bait. Two or three times a week are probably a minimum amount for a prebait campaign.

If you decide to try prebaiting a swim, it’s important that you fish at the same time that you’ve been baiting. If you have been prebaiting in the morning, fish your session in the morning as this is the time that the fish will be used to seeing bait. You can’t catch what isn’t there.

With regards what to use, Ian’s first choice is a good oily fish, such as herring or a sardine. These fish provide good levels of both oily scent and visual attraction via their silvery skin. Ian will take a couple of both species and chop them into two-inch chunks. These he then simply throws into the area that he plans on fishing. As herring and sardine are so cheap, the results will very much outweigh the expense.

Which pike rigs to use...

The decision on whether to fishfloat or leger depends very much on how close in you’re planning to fish. Up to around 30 yards and if the day is not too windy, use a float. For fishing further out or if the water is very choppy, use a leger.

FLOAT RIG

Floats give extremely sensitive bite registration and offer very little resistance to the taking fish. This float set-up is simplicity itself. The float is an unloaded Fox Pencil, which is allowed to slide up the main line. A bead and a pair of float stops control the float’s depth. The bait is fished overdepth and is held in place with the use of either an Egg Sinker or a drilled bullet. Once cast into the swim, the line is slowly wound down until the float hits the float stops. Depending how windy it is, you can wind down slightly more to allow the float to cock, or leave it lying flat on the surface. A floatfished bait can also be presented at any depth. For example, if you want a bait close to the surface or just above a weed bed, it’s easier to suspend it from a float than to pop it up.

LEGER RIG

The first choice for distance casting on stillwaters is to leger. The advantage of legering a deadbait rather than freelining it is that you can tighten up harder to the bait and so spot runs much quicker.

The set-up incorporates a leger stem. These buoyant stems feature a foam ball at the top that helps to keep the mainline out of any weed.

The stem also has a large bore run ring. Pike, like all predators, dislike resistance and the large run ring will allow free passage of the mainline during a take. It’s important to use a heavy leger weight on the stem, around 2oz to 2.5oz is ideal. When the pike moves with the bait, the leger will be heavy enough to hold the stem in place. A lighter lead could shift during the run and this added sudden resistance could alarm the pike and it may drop your bait.

Bait choice

Go into any good tackle shop’s freezer and you’ll find at least half-a-dozen types of deadbait. So what do you choose? Traditional sea baits are ideal.

Pike seem to love herring. Fish the tail section of the fish, as it’s more aerodynamic than the head, but a head section will work just as well.

Sardines are also good. These again are very oily and salty. They’re a silvery-flanked fish, which helps the bait stand out in clear water, providing a superb visual stimulus as well as a scent trail from their oil and internal juices.

The main problem with both sardines and herrings is that they’re very soft skinned. This makes them hard to cast. The solution is to take still frozen baits to the lake, kept in a cool bag, or tie PVA tape around the trace and the tail root of the fish. If using PVA tape, use a good quality product, wrap it around the trace and tail root of the fish a few times and then cast quite quickly. Once on the bottom of the lake, the PVA tape will melt and leave a perfectly presented bait.

Try a lamprey section on your third rod. A most curious fish, it’s seldom seen, and rarely caught, but lampreys have been in our rivers and lakes since the Ice Age. Resembling an eel, they have no jaw, but a maw, which they use to attach themselves, vampire-like, to the sides of fish in order to suck their blood. This makes lamprey an ideal pike bait as they not only have a very tough skin – great for distance casting – but once in the water they will release their blood for hours and hours putting a lovely rich scent trail into the water.

 From left: Herring tail, sardine and lamprey

How to fish the pellet cone

Pellet cones are great little tools for making compressed cylinders of micro pellets that sit on your hooklength, just above your baited hook.

These little parcels of strongly-scented goodies will quickly draw the attention of nearby carp, tench and bream, leading them to follow the smelly trail and quickly find your hook bait.

When cast out they put the micro pellet loosefeed in a small area around your hookbait - absolutely perfect.

It’s best fished on a straight lead rig with hair-rigged hookbaits such as mini boilies, corn and pellets, and is ideal for fishing for carp, tench and bream on commercials.

Use a rig which allows you to clip your 12ins hooklength on and off your rig. And it's also advisable to tie quite a few spare rigs too, just in case you suffer a breakage, the hook becomes blunt or the hair becomes damaged in any way.

Here's how to set up and use a pellet cone in five quick and easy steps... 

Step 1

Soak a pint of 2mm or 3mm micro pellets in cold water for around 30secs, then drain and leave for 30mins. This should make them soft enough to stick together.

Step 2

Select the required size of cone and fill with pellets. Compress the pellets inside the cone tightly to ensure they are well packed in.

Step 3

Thread a baiting needle through the cone and pull your baited hooklength back through the cone by attaching the loop in the end of the hooklength to the needle.

Step 4

Pull the hook into the cone so that the hookbait sits directly underneath the cone. Remove the pellet cone by pushing at the thin end of the cone and slide it off your hooklength.

Step 5

Clip the loop on the end of the hooklength back into the snap link swivel, then you are ready to cast out.

How to fish for carp with a bagging waggler

The Method catches fish on the bottom, right? Wrong! With the right tackle it’s possible to fish the Method just under the surface and catch even more than you would when fishing it on the deck. Don’t believe us? Prepare to be amazed

Ian Chestney knows his stuff. He fishes the Midlands commercial fishery match circuit, and he’s very good. In fact he’s almost unstoppable when it comes to fishing the Method feeder.

But like all good anglers, he is prepared to play around with techniques and baits until he is confident that they catch more consistently.

As he is a matchman, the desire to catch more and catch faster is strong, and this desire led Ian to experiment with the Method – a renowned carp-catching technique – and turn it into something a bit special.

Now, when conditions allow he fishes the Method off the bottom, using a float, catching only inches deep. Here’s how he does it....

What’s it all about?

IF YOU do not know how the original Method works, it goes something like this… A sticky, often fishmeal-based groundbait is moulded around a heavy frame feeder. A short hooklength, sometimes only a couple of inches long, is attached to the line below the feeder and baited. The hooklength can be left to dangle from the feeder, or it can be stuck on to the feeder using a little more groundbait. Then the whole lot is cast out and left on the bottom.

The carp will pick up the scent, home in on the ball of sticky groundbait and begin attacking it, trying to get at any larger food particles in the groundbait. Eventually the carp will find the hookbait, take it and hook themselves against the weight of the feeder. This results in violent takes and arm-aching action.

Ian Chestney’s technique works upon a very similar principle, but the tackle required, groundbait used and weight of the feeder differs greatly.

Use powerful gear

IAN USES huge Method Floats made by Kobra. They are very similar to pike floats in that they are thick, long balsa floats but these have plastic ribcage-like frames on the base and a small weight in the centre.

They are buoyant enough to float even with a healthy amount of groundbait moulded around the frame.

Ian’s rod is an old, but powerful Daiwa Amorphous Stillwater, but he reckons a 12ft, 2lb test-curve carp rod is even better.

The main line is 6lb Maxima, but Ian ties a 20ft 8lb Maxima shockleader below it to take the brunt of the cast. The feeder is attached to this leader.

Ian’s groundbait mix

IAN CHESTNEY is the National Sales Coordinator for R&G Cats and Dogs baits and therefore uses their groundbaits all the time. He has also helped design their baits and as he’s such a fan of the floating Method he helped with a groundbait specifically for the job. It’s called Bagging Waggler – because that’s you’ll do when you use it!

This contains all the ingredients that carp love. It is sticky enough to hold together for casting, and active enough to cloud the water instantly.

“You simply cannot use a standard Method feeder groundbait when fishing like this as it’s too sticky,” he says. “Normal Method groundbait won’t cloud the water. You will have to add another groundbait to soften it, or go for one of the fast-acting Method mixes that are now available.”

Ian adds a full bag of Supercarp Netbuster – another sticky groundbait – and a good helping of Hemp Porridge to his Bagging Waggler groundbait.

A lot of groundbait is required when fishing this technique and that’s why Ian bulks his out with Netbuster. Once the two dry groundbaits are mixed together he scoops about a pint of water from the lake and stirs in a good helping of hemp porridge to the water. Ian adds this milky water to the groundbait a little at a time, mixing it vigorously until the groundbait just holds together when squeezed.

For today’s session at Gerrard’s Carp Lake near Maxey, Cambs, Ian mixed his groundbait a little drier than he would normally because he decided to add some soaked expander pellets to give the carp something to feed upon.

Squeeze the groundbait around the feeder and drop it in the margins first to check whether it peels away from the feeder and also to find out how much groundbait the float will take before it sinks.

The best rig to use with the Method float

IAN’S rig is very simple, and versatile too.

Working from the rod, there are two silicone float stops, a snap link swivel, a bead and finally a swivel tied on the end of the line. To this he ties a 2ft hair-rig hooklength. The line he uses is very strong 0.18mm FAPS Dynamite Power high-tech line (around 7lb breaking strain) and the hook is a barbless size 10 ESP Raptor G-4.

Ian prefers to hair-rig his bait for two reasons. Firstly luncheon meat – ideal for this method – will remain on the rig through a powerful cast, and hair-rigging a bait means that the hook point never becomes masked by the bait.

The large float is clipped directly to the snap link swivel. Doing this allows him to switch quickly between either a red or a black tipped float if light conditions change on the water.

This rig can be fished in two ways. The two silicone float stops can be pushed down the line to lock the float in place.

This creates a bolt rig effect whereby the taking fish will instantly feel the resistance of the very buoyant float and try to swim away from it. Ian fishes the rig in this way when the carp are really feeding well.

When the fish are a little slower to respond Ian pushes the float stops up the line. This gives the carp a little more time to take the bait and swim off with it before they feel the buoyancy of the float.

Where will it work?

The floating Method will work anywhere where the normal Method works, or used to work. It’s better suited to larger venues though as casting such a large weight makes an enormous splash!

Aim to fish it in water of four or five feet or more and well out from the bank. This method won’t work in the margins as the fish won’t have the confidence to feed up in the water close to the edge of a lake.

So how does it work?

THE BAGGING waggler works on a simple principle. Unlike the Method feeder, whose groundbait remains fairly inactive on the bottom, the floating Method feeder’s groundbait needs to be very active. As soon as the float hits the water the groundbait, so long as it is correctly mixed, starts to peel away from the frame creating a hanging cloud.

The carp respond to the splash, they will swim over to find out what’s going on, see the cloud, smell the food and try to suck in any particles streaming from the float. The problem is there are no really large particles for the taking – except for the one on the hook hanging there enticingly within the cloud.

“When fished correctly this is an extremely busy method. Even when it is squeezed really hard, the groundbait moulded around the frame should fall away in between two and four minutes,” states Ian. “When the fish are really having it, it could take seconds because they come straight to the splash and attack the groundbait, knocking it off. So, to fish the bagging waggler effectively you need to keep a continuous stream of groundbait going in, and this means casting every four or five minutes.”

You can actually see if all the groundbait has come away from the float as it will gradually rise in the water as the groundbait peels away from the frame. When it begins to sway, chances are all the groundbait has fallen away and the float is just sitting vertically under the small weight at the base.

It pays to place your rod in the rests at an angle and to use a free spool reel when fishing with a Method float as bites can be extremely violent.

The best baits

IAN chose to use luncheon meat on this session, but he confidently stated that when the carp are really having it you could put anything on the hook and they will take it.

When the fish are being a little more selective some of the better baits are meat, maggots, slow-sinking hooker pellets and bread. Casters tend to disintegrate too quickly and sweetcorn sinks too fast. Ideally the bait needs to drop through the cloud steadily so that the fish can see it easily and therefore take it.

The session

BEFORE attaching a hooklength and after mixing his groundbait Ian squeezes a good handful of groundbait around the frame and makes six casts towards the centre of Gerard’s Carp Lake. He tries to keep all the casts in the same area so that one continuous cloud is created.

Next he baits the hair with a small piece of luncheon meat, moulds more groundbait around the feeder and casts to the same spot. The float hits the water with an almighty splash, pops to the surface and starts to do its work.

Meanwhile the bait drifts downwards, but before the two foot hooklength has time to straighten the float shoots under and Ian’s rod is nearly ripped from the rest. His first carp is hooked within 10 seconds of the bait being in the water!

“This is the stupidest method I have ever fished! It can be like this all day long with fish hooked on almost every single cast!” he says, keeping the rod tip low and pumping the first of many carp to the landing net.

“The first time I saw someone fishing this method was at a match on Drayton Reservoir. I nearly wet myself with laughter but soon had the smile wiped from my face when that angler beat me by 150lb!” exclaimed Ian.

As he had explained earlier, Ian rebaited the feeder and cast every four minutes to keep the cloud lingering. But this wasn’t going to be one of those red letter days – the weather saw to that. One minute it was blazing sunshine, calm and hot, the next minute the clouds came over and a light, cold wind blew. Ideally it needs to be bright, calm and warm throughout the day for this method to really show its mettle.

Ian kept casting, introducing feed regularly. He switched between a long and a short hooklength and between a fixed and a sliding rig and caught the occasional carp. He finished with nearly 50lb which by this method’s standards was almost disappointing! We’d love to see Ian and the floating feeder when the everything’s right – 200lb anyone?

10 STEPS TO METHOD FLOAT SUCCESS

1 You will need to use a powerful rod and strong line. A lightweight carp rod and 8lb line is ideal.

2 Cast the Method float into open water, preferably of four feet and deeper.

3 Use the right groundbait. Ideally the mix should peel away from the float causing a cloud in less than five minutes.

4 Test it first. Before casting out drop a loaded Method float in the margins to see how it sits and whether your groundbait is working correctly.

5 Fish the right venue. This technique works best on carp waters that already respond to the Method.

6 Experiment with hooklengths. Swap between long hooklengths, say around 2ft, and short hooklengths to find the depth the carp are feeding at.

7 Hair rig soft baits like meat or hooker pellets as this prevents them falling off the hook when punching out a cast.

8 Wait until it’s warm. Carp are more likely to feed just under the surface when the water is warm.

9 Do not point your rod directly at the float. If you are using rests put them at an angle so that the taking carp can pull the tip round and give you chance to grab it before it’s pulled in!

10 Use a free spool reel as this will pay out line to a taking fish and give you time to respond to the take.

How to catch chub and barbel from weirpools

True anglers are always drawn to the sound, sight and smell of weirpools. The temptation to peer into the white, rumbling water and wonder which species might live in such torrents is too hard to resist. Unless you cast a baited hook into the fierce water you’ll never know what lurks beneath, but it takes courage and confidence to do so. Jan Porter is your guide as he tackles Church Wilne weir on the Derbyshire Derwent.

Weirpools are tremendous places to fish. They look almost too violent and fierce to even consider tackling them, but the rewards can be phenomenal and catching fish from white water is an experience that you will never, ever forget.

Granted, your first 100lb-plus carp haul is a memorable event, but imagine the thrill of successfully setting out your stall, feeding and catching a large, powerful chub or barbel from the true, wild water of a weirpool. It’s your weirpool exploits that will be the most fondly remembered.

They aren’t easy places to fish – you’ll always get a swim, if not the whole weirpool to yourself – so to help you along we accompanied Jan Porter to the Church Wilne weirpool on the River Derwent, just east of Derby.

Jan’s intention was to leger for the many barbel and chub that live in this beautiful stretch of wild water, fishing as close to the weir as the overhanging vegetation allowed.

WHY FISH A WEIR?

OF all the places on a river to fish, why would anyone want to push themselves and their tackle to the limit and tackle the turbulent water of a weirpool?

The answer is quite simple when it’s explained, and it boils down to three things: weirpools provide oxygen, food and safety.

Oxygen: Although plants give off oxygen when they photosynthesise during daylight, rivers that have sparse weed growth will suffer during a prolonged drought. The oxygen levels drop and the fish have to seek highlyoxygenated water, not in order to survive, but to be comfortable. And one of the most oxygenated areas of a river is directly downstream of a turbulent weirpool.

Food: The water that pours over the weir carries food that is washed down, swept around with the undercurrent to eventually settle on the bottom of the surrounding eddies. The constant pounding of the water over the sill also helps stir up any crustaceans and other water life trying to mind their own business under rocks or snags. Fish won’t be too far away.

Safety: No cormorant can work a weir as they are too powerful so there’s little chance of being picked off, plus light cannot filter through the turbulent water so therefore there’s ample shade for the fish.

JAN’S FAVOURITE BAITS

AS Jan was fishing for a large chub or a barbel he opted to bring big baits normally associated with those species. He took two sizes of trout pellets, paste, Trigga boilies, cooked hemp, sweetcorn and Dynamite Baits’ Mini Meaty Fish Bites. The sweetcorn and hemp made great feed inducers as they sink fast and emit strong scents.

Either of these could be hair-rigged if Jan wanted, but a big bait approach was at the top of his agenda today.

The Special G Marine Pellets Jan set aside as hookbaits were huge – 21mm to be precise – and as these are extraordinarily hard Jan had already drilled through them beforehand so they could easily be hooked hair-rig-style.

Although the fish living in the weirpool may not have seen these monstrous pellets before – or any other pellet for that matter – Jan was adamant that these pellets are great short session baits that meat-loving fish readily take.

It was highly likely that the chub or barbel had never seen Jan’s paste, Trigga boilies or Mini Meaty Fish Bites either so the pressure was really on for him to prove his worth.

KICK-STARTING A SWIM

FEEDING a weirpool is incredibly simple when you apply a little common sense before throwing out the bait. Jan walked to the head of the pool, armed with corn, small pellets and hemp, and watched the water surging down the sill, working its way downstream. By doing this he could determine the path his loosefeed would take as it was pushed along with the flow.

Jan pointed out that the main flow fell off the weir and headed directly downstream. He also noticed that the flow started going slowly backwards either side of the main current creating a pair of slow moving eddies immediately downstream of the weir and at either side of the river.

Bait thrown into the centre of the main flow would be swept downstream quickly.

It would be some time before it settled on the bottom – perhaps even 30 yards downstream of the main weir. This distance would be determined not only by the power of the flow, but also by the buoyancy of the bait. A heavy bait like hemp or corn sinks faster than maggots or casters.

Any bait thrown into the very edge of the weir would be drawn downstream but there is a high chance that it will be sucked in and swept around within the swirling eddy, where it would come to rest.

Jan used a throwing stick to introduce hemp, pellets and corn across the weir.

The bait scattered between the main flow and the far bank eddy to provide plenty of options.

DON’T SKIMP ON TACKLE

JAN came armed with powerful gear capable of stopping a barge. The rod was a prototype that Jan built himself – a 12ft, 13⁄4lb test-curve rod based on a Shimano Diaflash blank. The reel was a Shimano Baitrunner loaded with 8lb Catana mono. This is a durable, economical line that is not only strong, but is also very abrasion resistant.

A powerful feeder rod with a 4oz carbon tip might suffice when fishing in such extreme conditions, but Jan prefers to use a through action 13⁄4lb test-curve Avon-style rod. The fish will still pull the tapered tip round on a savage bite, but by the same token the tip won’t be pulled round too much when the lead settles and the flowing water exerts force upon the main line.

THE RIG

JAN’S rig resembled a semi-fixed carp set-up. He threaded a strong snap link onto the main line, then a Korda Tail Rubber, and tied a large swivel on to the end. A 12-inch hooklength was tied to the swivel and a 2oz flat lead was clipped to the snap link.

The hooklength was made up of 15lb Kryston Super Mantis coated braid which is a very abrasion-resistant material perfect for these conditions. A hair rig was tied in the end with a knotless knot and a size eight Fox Series Two hook.

Jan utilised a snap link in the set-up as this enabled him to quickly switch between a heavier or lighter weight, or a different shaped lead or even to remove the lead completely for free-lining if he wished.

Finally Jan pushed the Korda Tail Rubber over the swivel and worked the snap link swivel over the Rubber until it locked. The rig would come apart if the line broke to make it safe.

AND WHERE ARE THE FISH?

HAVING tackled River Trent weirpools many times before, Jan had a good inkling of the fish’s whereabouts.

They were very likely to be holed up where the current was least ferocious as here they could rest and zip in and out of the current to take food as it passed by.

Barbel prefer clean, gravel bottoms and running water over their backs so they were likely to be resting behind rocks or downstream of snags either downstream of the weir or even right under the surging white water.

Chub, bream and pike prefer slower water so they could be found in or very close to the eddies at either side of the main flow. They may also lay downstream of the main flow where the water is calmer.

Overhanging bushes are a prime target area for chub too as they love the cover they offer.

Amazingly fish can also be found right underneath the weir and white water. Here the water is deeper and therefore the flow is reduced, plus this area is the first point of call for food being swept over the weir.

SEARCH THE BOTTOM

WEIRPOOLS are often extremely snaggy places to fish. During floods branches, debris and all manner of things are sent down river, washed over the weirpool with the force of the water then pushing the rubbish down where it will remain on the bottom.

To ensure that his rig didn’t become snagged on the same object every cast, Jan flicked the rig out and allowed it to bounce along the bottom. He held the rod at all times as this allowed him to feel the contours and make-up of the bottom through the rod.

The lead bounced along the bottom from the white water downstream and once it passed Jan’s seated position he wound it in and cast again to a different area, repeating the run through.

Only a couple of large snags were found and from this Jan knew exactly where to cast in order to gain a clean run through the long swim.

THE SESSION

JAN began fishing in the late morning and cast a baited rig only when he was confident that he had located the snags and after picking the right weight for his rig. He switched between 2oz, 21⁄2oz and 3oz flat leads and cast them into the swim. Ideally he needed a weight that remained stationary in the strong flow, but one which would move easily if a fish picked up the bait or if Jan tugged gently on the mainline. A 2oz lead was selected.

He started the session using a Trigga boilie but after no response in an hour he decided to switch to a string of Mini Meaty Fish Bites.

He has a special way of attaching these baits, working four or five baits up the hook shank and on to the hooklength, then attaching a single boilie to the hair.

Doing this not gives a visually more appealing bait and one that smells stronger too, but the main reason is to help hook more chub. Older, larger and wiser chub tend to pick up baits in their lips and feel for hooks, as opposed to taking the whole bait down. But by making a longer bait the chub has to take the hook down before it can close its lips around the end of the bait to check for hooks. When it does that it’s too late and Jan will have felt or have seen the bite.

Jan saw a couple of taps on the rod tip but nothing materialised until he tried a Marine Pellet.

He cast to the same spot, right in the white water, and let the bait trundle downstream After a couple of attempts the rod tip jagged and lurched over. He struck and hooked a good fish.

The culprit was a 4lb chub that used the strong flow to its advantage, giving Jan the runaround before he finally netted it.

He replaced the pellet hookbait and tried for another fish. It took some time in coming, but again the rod arched over and a slightly smaller chub took the massive pellet hook bait.

Although Jan didn’t catch a netful from this wonderful weirpool, he had a great day’s fishing that was challenging yet productive.

How to fish the pellet waggler

The‘pellet waggler’ is a brilliant summer method of fishing up in the water for huge nets of match carp. But you’re always busy, so it isn’t a method for the work shy!

The idea is to suspend a hookbait a few inches to a few feet from the surface and constantly catapult bait around it. The carp will be attracted by the sound of the loosefeed, and of the float, splashing down on the water’s surface, and home in on the suspended hookbait.

The ability to feed accurately by catapult while still holding the rod is essential for this style of fishing.

Tackle

Because you’re targeting larger carp you need a more powerful rod than you use for general insert waggler fishing. A good pellet waggler rod should have a smooth, progressive action to soak up sudden lunges under the rod tip. Shorter rods will help you play and net big carp easier on smaller commercial fisheries. Top match ace Steve Hemingray uses an 11ft 6in Drennan Carp Waggler Combo rod coupled with a Daiwa ‘S’ reel loaded with sinking 4.4lb Drennan Float Fish line.

Float

Pellet waggler floats are shorter, fatter and more buoyant than standard wagglers and are designed to make a splash as they land. But they don’t dive too deep or spook fish swimming high up in the water.

There are many types available but Steve generally uses a Drennan No2 (3.5g capacity) Pellet Waggler which is locked on the line with two SSG (swan) shot. There are no dropper shot.

If possible, always choose an unloaded float. Loaded versions, with the weight built in at the base, dive deeper when they hit the water.

Again, make sure you use a float adaptor in case you want to switch to a lighter or heavier float without having to break the rig down.

Steve always fishes a hooklength, rather than ‘straight through’ in case he snags up or needs to tie on a different size or sharper hook.

Bait bands

The easiest way to put hard pellets on the hook is to use a flexible rubber/silicon bait band. The bands Steve uses have a special dimple at the point where the hookpoint is intended to pierce them.

There are two ways to mount the banded pellet – on the hook shank, or on the bend (see below).

On the day, one method may hook more fish than the other, so Steve always experiments with the position until he finds the most successful.

Step One

Pierce the hookpoint through the dimple on the bait band

Step Two

Stretch the band to make room for the pellet

Step Three

Try fishing with the bait band slid on to the hook’s shank...

Step Four

...or, slide it round the bend and see which works best on the day

Hooks and hookbait

A hard, 4mm or 6mm sinking pellet is a great hookbait for this style of fishing. Some fisheries insist that you can only use their own pellets, but there are loads of different types on the market. Steve uses Sensas Carp Pellets.

Steve swears by a Drennan size 14 Wide Gape Pellet hook. It’s a relatively light but enormously strong hook capable of landing big carp and the wide gape (the distance between the hookpoint and shank) tends to increase hook-up rates.

Depth

Whatever the depth of swim on typical, man-made commercial pools, Steve always starts off fishing his pellet waggler rig at 2ft deep. He says there are days when you will catch shallower or deeper, but not by much. A foot either side of that initial two feet depth will be all it takes!

Constant casting is the key

Carp come to the noise of the float splashing down, so Steve only leaves his float out there for 30 to 40 seconds before recasting. During that period he will also twitch his float twice, so the hookbait is always on the move.

The twitch

It takes only a few seconds for the pellet to fall two feet through the water and then remain static under the float.

Steve knows that carp are naturally curious and attracted to movement, so he wants his hookbait to stand out. He does this by flicking his rod tip firmly which snatches the float six inches to a foot across the surface, lifting the pellet back up in the water, only for it to drift downwards again.

Sometimes, you’ll get a bite immediately after twitching. As soon as he twitches the float, Steve reels in any slack line to keep a tight line to the float.

Feeding

Correct feeding is a critical part of this style of fishing and it is essential that you can catapult pellets while still holding the rod.

You are aiming to hit a metre-square target area around the float. Steve likes to fire out 6mm size pellets as they make a louder splash than 4mm pellets and they’re also easier to fire over longer ranges.

Aim to feed once or twice every cast but you only need to fire three or four pellets each time.

Sometimes, once you’ve got the fish in your swim, you can cut down on the feed and the carp will still come to the sound of your constant casting.

Every bite on this method will be lightning fast, but very rarely will fish hook themselves.

Unlike the insert waggler, if you see any type of movement in the pellet waggler, strike at it!

If you go a few casts without any indication, then you need to start putting in more bait.

The more you fish this method, the easier it will get!

Get into the rhythm!

The best pellet waggler anglers quickly drop into a work-intensive rhythm – cast, catapult, twitch, catapult, twitch, reel in, recast.

This can be physically draining but, at the end of the day, you could have landed well over 100lb of carp. So give it a go!

How to fish the waggler

The waggler is a float that attaches bottom-end only and is cast on rod and line, as opposed to being shipped out on a pole.

In bygone years, waggler fishing was the nation’s number one form of float fishing, though today it is arguably under challenge from pole fishing in terms of popularity. However, research suggests that it’s still the favourite tactic for older anglers.

Drennan-backed England International Steve Hemingray has honed his skills on the waggler for more than 30 years.

Here’s Steve’s essential guide to mastering the waggler. He’ll look first at the kit you need, detail the rigs and then show you how to catch on two types of waggler float.

Weather conditions

Little or no wind and good visibility is perfect for waggler fishing. In these conditions you can use a sensitive waggler float to good effect.

If there is a strong wind blowing you must try to find a peg with the wind coming straight off your back.

If the wind is blowing left to right, or right to left, it will effect your ability to cast and feed accurately, and also drag the float unnaturally across the surface. This is the kiss of death!

Pick a peg with fish-holding features – islands, reeds, lily beds or far bank overhanging trees/bushes – to cast to.

The gear you need...

Rods and reels

The one thing you won’t need for waggler fishing is a rodrest. The idea is to hold the rod throughout the session, so you’re ready to hit lightning bites. The ability to loosefeed by catapult while holding the rod is a huge asset, otherwise you can always sit on the rod butt while feeding, then pick it up quickly.

Because you’re holding the rod for long periods, it must be light and balanced. A13ft blank is ideal. For silverfish and small carp you should choose a rod with a soft tip action that’s capable of shielding low diameter hooklengths. Steve’s first choice is a Drennan Ultralight.

For casting larger floats like pellet wagglers and landing bigger fish you should go for a slightly more powerful rod with a smooth, progressive action. Steve favours the 11ft 6in Drennan Carp Waggler Combo.

Reels must be ‘float sized’, with a smooth action, non-stick clutch and good line lay. Steve uses a Daiwa ‘S’ model.

The correct reel line choice is crucial for successful waggler fishing. The line must sink. If it floats, wind and tow will pull the float along unnaturally. This is the kiss of death as fish will be highly suspicious and refuse to take your bait.

Your hookbait must do exactly what your loosefeed is doing if you want to catch! Steve uses slow-sinking Drennan Float Fish in 3.2lb breaking strain for silverfish, and 4.4lb for carp work.

Floats

There are two main types of wagglers – ‘straight’ and ‘insert’. As the name suggests, ‘straight’ wagglers are made from a length of peacock quill (or other material) that’s the same diameter throughout.

‘Inserts’ have a slimmer length of cane or fibreglass inserted in the top of the peacock quill. This slimmer sight tip is much more sensitive and will emphasise shy bites much easier than the thick top of a ‘straight’ waggler.

Both types of floats come in loaded or unloaded versions, but Steve much prefers the unloaded version as he can move shot up and down the line to adjust the bait’s rate of fall, depending on where the fish are in the water table. He also reckons they cast straighter than loaded versions.

Bulk shot should always be locked around the base of the float with one shot above, and all the others below it, to help it fly straight and avoid tangles.

Waggler range

The ideal range to fish a waggler is between 20 yards and 30 yards.

The distance at which you fish will be limited by the range you can fire loosefeed.

The perfect all-round waggler for general fishing has a 3AAA(or 3AA) shot capacity.

Always try to fish with a slightly heavier waggler than you think you’ll need. Heavier floats are easier to cast and control. With a heavy float you can always cast beyond your target area and wind back. With lighter floats you may not be able to reach the target, especially if the wind picks up.

Float adaptors

Always attach your waggler to your reel line via a float adaptor. There are loads of different types, and they’re relatively cheap. This allows you to instantly change to a lighter or heavier waggler if wind and tow conditions change.

Hooklength

Always fish with a lighter hooklength than your mainline. That way, if you become snagged, and have to pull for a break, you’ll only loose the hooklength, but will get your float back.

Steve uses Drennan Double Strength hooklengths. The diameters he uses for particular sizes/species of fish are listed below.

0.10mm – roach and skimmers

0.12mm - bigger skimmers and tench

0.14mm - medium sized carp

0.16mm – big carp

Hooks

Don’t use fine wire hooks for waggler fishing – the metal is too springy and will cause hook pulls. Neither do you want heavy, forged carp hooks.

When using baits like maggot and caster, go for a ‘medium wire’ hook like Steve’s favourite Drennan Silverfish Maggot in a size 18. This is light enough not to drag the bait down unnaturally, yet strong enough to land bigger, bonus fish.

If fishing pellet, try a pattern like Drennan Wide Gape Pellet in size 16. The wider gape (distance between the hookpoint and shank) will increase the amount of successful hook-ups.

From left: Light, Medium and Heavy wire hooks

Swivels

Get hold of some micro swivels and tie one to the end of your reel line, then attach the hooklength to the swivel. This helps prevent baits like double maggot or caster spinning and twisting the hooklength. Micro swivels weigh about the same as a No 8 split shot, so it acts as a perfect dropper shot.

Depth and shotting patterns

Most modern commercial stillwaters are around 4ft to 6ft deep. These are ideal depths to fish a slow-sinking bait. Steve always kicks off by plumbing the exact depth of his swim and then adding six inches.

He fishes with all the large shot (the ‘bulk’ shot) around his float and two No8 shot down the line (one of these sinker ‘shot’ will be his micro swivel).

Applying shot

Use a pair of styl pincers to put small, No8 dropper shot on the line as you can control the pressure applied better than using teeth. Never use your teeth to nip on non-toxic locking shot around the float – the split shot’s sharp edges can easily damage the line. Squeeze these shot on using finger pressure only, or use a sleeve of silicone on the line to act as a buffer. Always use your nail to open the cut on larger split shot prior to moving, or removing them so you don’t damage the reel line.

Keep a few No8 shot with the main bulk so you have the option to push shot down the line to alter hookbait’s the rate of fall.

Float tip colours

Always carry a range of black, red, orange or yellow tipped wagglers to suit all light conditions. Use yellow and orange tips on dark, shaded water and black and red on water in full light/sunshine.

Carry a black permanent marker pen to darken floats with light coloured tips, or slide a ‘sleeve’ of tight-fitting black silicone over them if you don’t want to ruin the original paintwork.

In calm conditions, always ‘dot’ the float tip down so that only 1cm (less than half an inch) of sight tip shows. This way, you’ll spot really shy bites.

Bait

Single or double maggot or casters are superb waggler baits because they fall slowly and enticingly through the water, aided only by two No8 dropper shot.

If using caster a good trick is to use a floating caster (a very dark bait) and a sinker (a lighter brown/tan), to counterbalance the weight of the hook and further slow down the rate of fall.

Another good tip with caster is to experiment with colours. Some days, the fish will prefer darker colours, other times they may favour a cocktail of a light caster and a dark one.

Left: When fishing double caster put the first on the hook like this. Right: Add the second caster like this to stop them spinning like a propeller on the retrieve.

Plumbing the swim

The easiest way to plumb the swim is to use a 0.25oz plummet with an eye and cork bottom rim to nick the hook into. (Clip on plummets can easily damage fragile hooklengths.)

It is essential to use an undershotted float so it can rise to the surface easily. This way you don’t get any false readings.

If he’s using a 3AAAfloat, Steve always removes one of the AAAshot prior to plumbing up and replaces it after he’s found the depth.

Aslow, overhead cast will send the weight of the plummet flying straight out in front of the float and lay the rig out in a straight line, avoiding tangles.

Once he’s found the bottom, Steve nicks his hook in the rod ring nearest the butt and then uses a dab of pole float paint to mark the point where the tip of his waggler comes to on the rod blank – just like you would mark the depth on a pole. If his hooklength gets broken, or he loses his rig, he knows exactly how deep the swim is for tackling up again.

Once he’s established the exact depth, Steve automatically adds six inches. He reckons that, generally, the better fish like carp and bream will be on the deck.

Smaller species like roach and rudd tend to be further up in the water. These silver species often give lightning fast bites that are hard to hit. Fishing six inches overdepth gives fish like carp, tench and bream time to get the bait well in their mouths, providing very positive bites.

Casting

You must put your waggler in the same spot every time, so casting to a permanent, far bank marker like a tree or staging is a good idea.

In open water pick a distance to fish to and then add two metres of line and use the line clip on the reel to prevent any more line being taken off the spool.

The extra couple of meters will allow you to accomplish one of the most important parts of waggler fishing – sinking the line.

Sinking the line

As long as you are ‘clipped up’ and not trying to whack the float too far, the line will hit the clip and lay the rig out perfectly in a straight line on the cast, avoiding the risk of tangles.

The entire top section of the rod should immediately be pushed at a 30-degree angle into the water and two full turns of the handle be made to recover the extra two yards of line, while drawing the float back into the target area.

At the same time, Steve smartly flicks the tip of his rod straight up and out of the water. The combination of these actions snatches all the line between rod tip and float under the water’s natural surface tension. Job done!

Reel lines can become greasy, especially on waters where a lot of meat is fed regularly, making them very hard to sink. In this case, Steve carries a tiny bottle

of undiluted Fairy washing up liquid. He casts out, then puts two drops of the liquid between his forefinger and thumb and reels the line back in through his pinched fingers, coating the mono with the grease-busting liquid.

Feeding

Correct feeding is a major part of successful waggler fishing. Little and often is the general rule for smaller fish with half a dozen maggots or casters catapulted in every cast.

If you start getting plagued by small fish intercepting your hookbait up in the water in response to the stream of falling bait, try catapulting two large pouches of bait every second cast. This will push the fish back on the deck, where they’re easier to catch.

If you constantly get bites on-the-drop, try shallowing up as the fish may be sitting at mid-depth. You can always return to full depth, because you’ve marked it on your rod blank.

The session

On just the second cast at the prolific Packington Somers Fishery at Somers Road, Meriden, between Coventry and Birmingham, Steve opens his account when a 4oz roach intercepts his slowly falling caster hookbait, but it’s not what he’s after.

He suspects the larger fish are sitting on the bottom so two big pouches of casters are fired to the target area 25 yards out.

After two minutes the float nods twice, indicating that a fish is present, but Steve doesn’t strike. It’s not like pole fishing where you lift into every movement. You must discipline yourself to wait for the bite to fully develop. Five seconds later the float slides away, and stays under. These are the waggler bites you’re looking for.

A healthy bend in the rod shows this isn’t a roach and a couple of minutes later a 3lb mirror carp comes to the net.

With big, powerful fish, Steve keeps the rod tip down low all the way until the fish is within netting range. The fish tend to be calmer if you keep them low in the water. They normally go berserk when you get them high up in the water and they can see things. If your hooklink is on the verge of breaking, or the hook pulling, this is when it will happen.

Over the next two hours, more carp, tench and bream are taken off the bottom, along with the odd roach and rudd, before the swim dies. The sun has warmed the upper water layers by now and Steve suspects that the carp have come up in response.

River roving for barbel

With miles of Britain’s rivers being virtually unexplored and unfished these days, this is the perfect time to go roving.

By travelling light and moving from swim to swim, you can enjoy all the glories of the English countryside as well as some prolific barbel and chub fishing.

These are the very thoughts that inspire river wanderer Chris Holley. By staying mobile, carrying the bare minimum of tackle and roving along a stretch of river, Chris has managed to catch 199 double-figure barbell and chub to 7lb 10oz.

Furthermore, the angling guide has also passed on his years of river experience, helping countless other anglers – from dustmen to big names such as Michelin-star awarded chef Marco Pierre White - land quality fish.

“Roving is without doubt my favourite method,” said Chris enthusiastically.

“It enables you to quickly get an idea of the river’s topography, where the snags, deep holes and weed beds are and all the other places that will hold fish.

“This makes catching fish much easier as you are actively seeking them out rather than sitting static, behind a pair of rods, waiting for them to come to you in a swim that may not be very good.”

To put Chris’ theory of roving to the test, we met up with him on a Birmingham Anglers Association stretch of the River Teme at Cotheridge.

With the river running very low and clear, it was obvious things were going to be tough.

But while lots of anglers would have got straight back in their car as soon as they saw the river, Chris remained unfazed.

Although not as confident as he would have been had the river been carrying a bit more water and colour, he still thought he could put a couple of fish on the bank.

Chris faced the ultimate test of his mobile attack...

Chris started the day by sneaking into his first swim, slightly upstream of the car park. From the high bank, a number of large barbell and chub were merrily troughing the hemp he had introduced into his four swims as soon as he had arrived at Cotheridge.

Burying his size 4 Drennan Boilie hook into a one inch cube of curry powdered luncheon meat, he swung his lightweight rig 10 yards upstream, away from the feeding fish.

Using the flow to carry it along the riverbed, it was ignored on the first run.

Repeating the cast Chris tried a different line, a little closer in. The meat bounced down into the lion’s den.

Holding in the flow a barbel broke rank and jumped on the meaty cube. Leaving the bite a second to develop, Chris swiftly struck and the first fish of the session was on.

As the fish rocketed downstream, his rod took on an alarming bend.

Giving its all, the barbell soon relinquished the balance of power and Chris welcomed it to the folds of his landing net’s mesh.

The fish was a 6lb 8oz beauty, a great start to a tough day.

“It’s time for a move,” said Chris…

Swim two comprised of a shallow upstream area, deepening as the river ran through a corridor of overgrown trees, ending in a deep pool at the end of the tree-lined passageway.

The pool at the end of the run was the area that Chris had pre-baited and was a little too deep to spot fish, although the occasional flash of white revealed there was a least one barbel in the swim.

Slipping on his chest waders, Chris’ plan was to creep to the inner edge of the trees and roll his meat down the central channel.

Unfortunately, with the river being at it lowest levels, Chris had problems getting the meat to roll naturally, forcing him to work it down the river rather than it being carried naturally.

This resulted in a few quick tugs on his meat hookbait, but no positive pick-ups. After 30 minutes, it was again time to move on downstream…

Chris' third swim was half-a-mile from the car park. In a shaded copse, this highly inviting swim had plenty of pace running through it and a snag on the inner bank.

Having previously placed two pints of hemp around the snag, this was the place for Chris to target.

A chunk of curried meat was flicked upstream, to allow it to trundle around the edge of the snag where the fish would be lying. Keeping his fingers on the mainline just above the reel, a technique called touch legering, Chris waited for any knocks caused by fish picking up his bait to be transmitted to his nerveladen fingertips.

After 10 minutes of little life showing, an armada of 20 big chub swam through the swim. Moving slowly towards the previously baited area the air was pregnant with anticipation.

For a few moments the chub hung over the bait before drifting away - in the low, clear conditions they were proving hard to tempt.

The final swim was a ‘U’ shaped area of the river, with a sandy beach area on his side and an uprooted tree on the far bank.

“This looks great,” said Chris, “the deeper, faster flow runs right along the edge of the fallen tree opposite.

“This is a classic holding area as it provides cover and oxygen for the fish.”

Running meat through the swim a few times, the fish weren’t having it. The river’s low levels and bright sun were making them spooky.

;

“I might just give worms a bash,” he said.

Seconds later, three worms where lumbering their way through the swim.

“That was a bump,” Chris whispered. Seconds later, he struck and the day’s second barbel was on!

“It’s a bit smaller than I’d like!” Chris said with a beaming grin on his face.

The only way to describe it was ‘perfection in miniature’ as the fish weighted four ounces!

“It seems funny, but barbel this size are rarer than double figure fish,” Chris said lightheartedly.

“Anyone that does much barbel fishing will know that the smallest fish generally caught are around 1lb.

“The real babies like these are never seen. So even though she’s a little un’ she’s a real treasure!”

How to roll meat effectively

Rolling a piece of meat is a top way of catching wary barbel and chub as you are presenting them with a moving bait that behaves naturally.

When rolling meat you must keep constant contact with the bait to read what’s happening below the water.

The best way to do this is by touch legering, the technique works by gently laying the line between your fingertips on your free hand and feeling for tell-tale bumps and plucks caused by a fish picking up the bait.

“Using your fingertips – which are very sensitive – for bite indication, means you can strike quicker and spot subtle bites that you might miss when using a quivertip,” said Chris.

Rod position is also important when working a moving bait downstream.

“A key mistake made by anglers is they keep the rod too high. Hold the rod tip close to the water so you give yourself room to strike,” he added.

But the third, and perhaps most important element you must get right, concerns the weight of leger weight you choose.

This should just be heavy enough to get the hookbait to the bottom, but not so heavy that it is pinned down static on the riverbed.

The meat must be able to trip and trundle along the riverbed, washed along by the flow, so that it resembles the natural movement of a free offering carried on the current.

“If the bait remains static, you immediately lose the advantage of fishing with a rolling bait and the natural presentation it gives you,” said Chris.

“Another problem novices make is pointing the rod at the bait. It is better to keep the rod at a 90º angle to the bait.

“By keeping a tight line and having it at an angle, you can easily feel when the bait has stopped and when it needs tweaking to get it moving through the swim again.”

Push the hook into and through the top of a one inch cube of meat.

Pull the hook out of the other side, and twist it 180 degrees.

Gently pull the hook back into the meat, burying the point.

CHRIS’ RIG

Chris’ roving rig (below) is simple, but it does incorporate some important aspects.

Chris’ mainline is 10lb Maxima. This is a heavy and quite thick line for its breaking strain when compared to modern high-tech lines. This is exactly what Chris looks for.

“Being thicker, the water pushes against it helping to trundle the meat downstream” Chris said.

Chris also uses a large bore run ring, stopped by a Fox buffer bead covering a size eight swivel.

To the run ring Chris attaches a snap link to facilitate quick lead changes. This is important as some swims have stronger flows than others, so you may need to use a lighter or heavier weight.

On the Teme Chris used a tiny leger, weighing just an eighth of an ounce, to trundle his bait along the riverbed. If the flow is very slow, Chris will even take the lead off altogether and freeline his baits.

For his hooklink he again uses line that sinks well and hugs the riverbed.

When fishing with meat chunks he uses 8lb Drennan Sinklink sinking braid but when using smaller baits like maggots, he uses 8lb Fox Illusion fluorocarbon. This extremely stiff line stops tangles when using light baits.

TOP THREE ROVING BAITS

As a dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist, Chris never uses modern baits like boilies and pellets, preferring to place his faith in time-honoured baits like luncheon meat, pastes or worms.

Chris’ top barbel and chub baits are:

LUNCHEON MEAT

The best rolling meats are the dense brands and Chris’ preferred tins made by Celebrity, Netto or Lidl.

He cuts the meat into three inch long strips, puts them into a plastic bag, adds 2oz of hot curry powder then inflates the bag and shakes it to cover the meat. The bag then goes in the fridge overnight to allow the curry to permeate the meat.

PASTE

Pastes are excellent for barbel and chub and Chris uses meat and cheese paste. To prepare his meat paste, take a pack of Sainsburys Extra Fine Sausage Meat then mix it 50/50 with fine breadcrumbs to produce a paste with the consistency of marzipan.

His cheese paste is made from equal quantities of Gorgonzola, mature cheddar and frozen puff pasty. He grates both cheeses then kneads the three ingredients together to form a smooth paste.

WORMS

Three or four worms on the hook is a great change when things are tough. The only problem with using them is that they’re not very selective. They will catch everything that swims, like roach, chublets or even baby barbel!

DOES ROVING WORK?

Despite only fishing for a few hours in diabolical conditions Chris still managed to tempt a 6-pounder.

It was clear his mobile approach allowed him to spend time actively looking for fish rather than waiting in vain for them to come to him.

The value of the roving approach was illustrated by a few other anglers who were fishing static baits further upstream - they didn’t muster so much as a line bite between them!

So, next time you fancy a spot of barbel and chub fishing, leave the tackle mountain at home, travel light and prepare to explore.

You might just discover some truly magical river fishing.

How to cast further and catch more

Ever wanted to out-cast your friends and contemporaries? Damian Clarke shows you just how to do that...

Distance casting is a part of carp angling that tends to be overlooked, mainly due to most people finding it a difficult discipline to master.

But how can you possibly get the best out of your swim if you’re only fishing at 70-80 yards like everybody else? Being able to cast long distances and with accuracy will add another string to your bow, similar to a tennis professional who spends time perfecting a big serve.

Also, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing carp topping and crashing at 100-yards-plus and not being able to cast to them. You don’t need to fish at distance all the time, but if you have the knowledge and skills, at least you can fish longrange when the situation warrants.

Rods and reels for long range work

Having the right gear to be able to cast long range is the first step. If you’re in the market for a new carp-fishing set-up, go for stiffer rods, around 3lb test-curve, and big reels rather than softer rods and small spooled reels. It’s better to have gear that will go the distance if needed. A stiff rod will definitely cast long; soft rods will struggle.

“I use Daiwa rods,” says Damian. “I find their rod blanks very responsive, with low levels of torque. The lower the torque rating of a rod, the truer and straighter the cast. Free Spirit and Greys also make some excellent models. Shop around until you find a set that you’re comfortable with. It’s better to be master of one rod than apprentice of many.”

A big-pit reel is a must for anyone looking to regularly fish at distance. The spools on these reels are much wider and longer than a standard reel. Big-pit reels also carry plenty of line and this larger surface area allows the mainline to come off smoother and with less friction. The friction caused by the line rubbing against the lip of the spool is one of the main causes of reduced casting distance. In order to reduce friction to a minimum, you must fill your reel spools right up to the lip.

“Not filling the spool correctly is one of the biggest mistakes I see anglers make,” says Damian. “If you fill the reel properly, you’ll add distance to your casts instantly, regardless of what rods and reels you are using.”

Braid or mono?

There are advantages and disadvantages to using both braid and mono as a mainline.

The main plus points of braid over mono are instant bite indication; braid has virtually no stretch. When fishing with mono at extreme ranges, a carp could easily move the lead sixinches or more without giving any indication at the rod end. With braid, a six-inch movement of the rig will give a six-inch movement at the rod end. Braid is also much thinner than mono which helps gain a few extra yards on the cast.

Inexperienced users of braided mainlines tend to have problems with wind knots, resulting in ‘crack-offs’. Wind knots can easily be avoided by following a few simple rules. Firstly, make a couple of short casts to wet the line. Also splash water onto the spool before you wind in. Secondly, keep a constant pressure when winding in braid. If you wind and pump the rod, you’ll cause slack spots on the spool and it’s these slack spots that cause wind knots.

What lead to use

Lead shapes cause a great deal of confusion among novice carp anglers. Each lead has a different shape for a reason and each one has its own use, just like different float patterns. For distance fishing, Damian’s first choice is a Korda Distance Casting swivel lead (pictured left).

“The thing I like about these leads is that they have a weightforward profile,” says Damian.

Having the bulk of the weight forward makes the lead and rig more stable in flight. The old Zip/ Tournament Casting leads are not as stable in flight and can wobble, cutting down on casting distance. The forward weighting of the Distance Casting lead gives it a bulletlike profile providing better forward momentum.

In-line leads are also to be avoided when looking to cast great distances. They may look more aerodynamic than swivel leads, but with an in-line lead the hook link has a tendency to spin round the lead like a propeller. Again, reducing the overall casting distance.

Safety issues

There are a couple of safety considerations to take into account when looking to blast out a lead 100-yards plus.

Firstly, always use a shock leader, which is a length of heavy mono or braid attached to the end of the mainline.

At 20lb-plus breaking strain, shock leaders help to take the brunt of big casts and help avoid the lead from cracking off. To tie a shock leader, Damian uses a double fourturn grinner knot.

Another safety tip is the use of a casting glove or fingerstall. If your fingers are damp, particularly after spoding, the water can soften the skin on your fingers and hands, leaving you prone to deep cuts.

These can be especially nasty if you’re using braid. Also, if this happens at the start of your session, that session can be ruined. “I’ve sliced up a few fingerstalls in the past, just casting, so God knows what it would have done to my finger!” says Damian.

Distance rigs

There are two main rig setups for long-distance fishing: helicopter set-ups and safety clip set-ups. Helicopter rigs (see diagram, right) have the lead tied on to the end of the mainline/leader. The hook link swivel is semi-fixed in to place by using beads positioned either side of the swivel. This set-up allows the hook link to spin around the mainline, similar to a helicopter’s propeller. The advantage of this rig is that it’s virtually tangle-free and with the lead leading the cast, it will effortlessly fly long distances.

The disadvantage of the helicopter rig is down to the semi-fixed nature of the beads that hold the hook link in place; it’s better as a single hook bait rig. The use of PVA bags or stringers with a helicopter rig can force the top bead up the leader, taking the hook link with it.

Safety clip set-ups are not quite as aerodynamic as helicopter rigs, but they are more versatile. Safety clip setups can be used with PVA bags, stringers and sticks, or with single hook baits, giving more presentation options.

5 distance casting tips

1) Use a rod that will cast to the distances that you want to fish.

2) Fill your spool right to the brim.

3) Braid, being thinner than mono, will help you cast a few extra yards straight away.

4) A weightforward lead casts further than any other shape.

5) Think safety! Always use a shockleader and finger protection when distance casting. To attach a shockleader you can use a variety of different knots, although the beachcaster knot (see diagram, below) is a strong, simple one that works.

How to fish the rocket feeder

Top matchman Nick Young reveals a new floating feeder which he claims is easy to use and will empty commercial carp waters. Is the Rocket as good as he claims?

With the water temperatures at their highest and fish cruising near the surface, anglers fishing ‘up-in-the-water’ are emptying Britain’s commercial carp pools.

If you fancy joining the catch action the good news is there’s a new gadget that has been purpose-made to maximise catches near the surface.

The new MAP Rocket Feeder is set to sweep the nation’s fisheries this summer.

Quite unlike anything else on the market, these floating feeders allow you present a rain of freebies that tumble through the upper layers around a hookbait, presented on a short hooklink.

To get evidence on how good this new gizmo is, we teamed up with Nick Young, at Worcestershire’s prolific Brockamin Pools, for a session on their Top Pool.

With a large head of carp to over 20lb and depths down to 12 feet, Brockamin seemed the ideal place to test Nick’s grandiose assertion that the new Rocket Feeder is the most revolutionary device since the conception of Method Feeder and something that will GUARANTEE to up your catch rate this summer.

Nick had made the claim, now he had to provide the proof..

HOW DOES THE ROCKET FEEDER WORK?

Arriving at Brockamin on a hot summer morning, we were greeted by Nick clutching his Rocket like a proud dad presenting his new child!

“Here it is,” he said, “...I’m telling you, it’s the business.”

It was instantly clear that the Rocket is essentially an open-ended feeder with a huge, highly buoyant nose cone stuck on the end of it.

Unlike most feeders, which sink to the bottom, this gadget is designed to float. Here’s how it works.

First you fill the feeder with bait like mixed particles, sweetcorn, casters, maggots, meat or chopped worms. You then plug the end of the Rocket with a small amount of groundbait.

When the feeder is cast into the water, it up-ends and the groundbait quickly collapses.

Once the plug of groundbait has been removed the feeder promptly empties its contents to rain through the upper layers.

With a short hooklink hanging below the feeder, so the hookbait is no more than a couple of  feet from the feeder, the hope is that the fish will pick up the bait as they dive into the cloud of loosefeed falling from the inverted feeder.

Clearly the feeder does bear a similarity to the Baggin Waggler float which hit the angling scene a few years ago.

However, as Nick explained, the Rocket’s main advantages are it’s easy to fill, easy to cast and doesn’t rely on groundbait being moulded around its base, as a Baggin Waggler does.

As Nick put the Rocket through its paces at the Worcestershire water, it was clear that he could bait the feeder very quickly and land it on a six-pence every cast. It wasn’t hard to imagine this whipping the carp into a competitive feeding frenzy.

This tank test gives you a flavour of what happens when the Rocket hits the water. In this test we loaded the feeder with sinking pellets and capped it with brown crumb - the Rocket emptied in 40 seconds. The harder you squeeze the groundbait the longer the bait will be held inside the feeder, you can also use different baits as filling so they sink at different speeds. Maggots and dark casters will sink slower than large pellets. The Rocket feeder costs £2.99.

WHEN DOES THE ROCKET FEEDER WORK?

Through the summer and autumn months when the water is warm, carp spend much of their time cruising and feeding in the upper layers.

Due to higher water temperatures, carp are very active and will feed hard to grow and replace any lost energy.

This makes fish hungry and they will compete to get to food first. Greed can overcome natural caution.

“This is the main reason the Rocket feeder works on commercial waters,” Nick explained.

“Carp in these waters have learned to home in on a splash. They are on the look-out for a regular supply of feed hitting the water so they will flock to an area where the Rocket is repeatedly landing.”

Common sense dictates that this constant barrage of noise may sound like a recipe for disaster as no carp will hang around during such an aerial assault.

But realising that the noise of the feeder hitting the surface actually attracts the fish rather than spooking them, is THE key to understanding why you can catch ‘up-in-the-water’ using the Rocket.

“On commercial waters the fish see a lot of disturbance, so as long as there is food going in, the fish will hang around” Nick added.

HOW TO FISH THE ROCKET FEEDER

When fishing with the Rocket, Nick doesn’t fish his swim – he attacks it! The most important step to using the float correctly is that at the start of the session it must be filled and recast every 60 to 90 seconds.

This is the process of ringing the dinner bell.

For the first part of the session Nick became an angling machine. If he wasn’t loading the feeder with bait or casting it out, he was cranking it back to refill it again!

Once again this was to whip the fish into a feeding frenzy and it took less than an hour for the fish to start fighting for his food.

“It is crucial when fishing shallow that you keep a constant shower of free offerings cascading through the upper layers,” explained Nick, as he prepared to make a second cast in less than two minutes.

“This really is the key to this style of fishing. If you stop the deluge of bait, and leave the empty feeder sitting in the water for several minutes, the fish will soon disperse as there is nothing in the swim to hold them,” he added.

“The swim must be built up with regular baiting and you need to cast at least once every two minutes, or as soon as the feeder has emptied.”

But regular casting places other demands - to get the best from the feeder it MUST be cast accurately.  Nick’s Rocket landed with pinpoint accuracy on every single cast.

By slipping his line into the clip on his spool, at the required casting distance, Nick carefully aimed at a marker on the far bank to focus his feed, and the fish, in a tight area.

“It’s important you hit the same mark to concentrate the feeding activity,” Nick said.

“Even though it’s a floating device, it is still a feeder so to keep catching accuracy is vital.

“You will need a fair amount of bait, but it doesn’t need to be an expensive method,” he explained.

“It doesn’t matter what you use as filling long as there is something constantly falling through the water.

“I generally use cheap sinking pellets that I buy in 25 kilo bags from animal feed suppliers. Plain brown crumb can be used for the groundbait.

“If you’re on a tight budget you can always pad out the feeder with some cheap pellets, rather than filling up with maggots, before capping it off with groundbait.”

STEP ONE

Nick loads a pinch of maggots into his Rocket first. These baits fall slowly through the water to tempt a variety of fish.

STEP TWO

He then fills most of the feeder with 3mm sinking feed pellets. Carp love them and will come high in the water to get at them.

STEP THREE

A cap of brown bread crumbs is then added to the Rocket to hold the filling in place. The feed quickly collapses to let the loosefeed fall.

SESSION

Kicking off his session, Nick was soon into a constant rhythm of filling, capping, casting and catching.

The speed that the fish came up in the water to feed was incredible. After only half-a-dozen casts Nick caught his first fish, it was a plump 10oz roach that had just about managed to stuff his triple red maggot hookbait into its mouth!

Repeating this success Nick quickly put a dozen roach in his net before something more substantial grabbed his triple red maggot hookbait and hooked itself against the Rocket.

With his rod bending double under the strain of the fish, Nick demonstrated the value of using balanced tackle and was soon coaxing a 10lb-plus mirror carp over the rim of his landing net.

Following his own advice to accurately and frequently recast, Nick repeatedly latched into roach and rudd with regular interuptions from carp spicing things up!

With over 60lb of fish caught in under four hours Nick had certainly backed up his claim that the MAP Rocket Feeder is a revolutionary piece of kit for ‘up-in-the-water’ fishing.

Having watched his impressive performance, and witnessed first hand how dramatically the fish responded to it, there is no doubt in my mind that the Rocket is ready for blast off!

THE ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER SHALLOW FISHING METHODS...

When fishing ‘up-in-the-water’ with rod and line there are three techniques you can use – a waggler float, the Bagging Waggler or the Rocket Feeder. Here’s Nick’s summary of why the Rocket has the edge...

Disadvantages of the waggler:

>> You often need to fish beyond catapult range, so you can’t loose feed effectively.

>> The further out you feed, the more the catapult will spread the bait and the fish.

>> You can only accurately feed one type of bait at a time.

Disadvantages of the Bagging Waggler:

>> It’s a heavy float, which is hard to cast accurately.

>> Your groundbait must grip the float tightly enough for casting but breaks apart quickly once in the water.

>> A heavy-duty rod is required to cope with casting.

Advantages of the Rocket:

>> Easy to fill with one bait or a variety of offerings.

>> Light enough to use with a standard power/carp float rod.

>> Rate of bait release can be controlled by how hard the groundbait is squeezed into the feeder.

>> Don’t need to use any special groundbait or mix it to any special consistency.

>> Can use ‘un-catapultable’ or light baits in the feeder – such as chopped worm, 2mm pellets or liquidised corn.

>> Delivers a rain of freebies near the hookbait, helping to confuse and excite fish.

How to catch carp in snaggy waters

Regardless of the water you fish, somewhere there will be a snag. An island, an overhanging or fallen tree, lily beds or tree stumps are always places which carp will be found in and around. Snags offer carp a feeling of safety and sanctuary and this is why they love them. These areas also offer a running buffet of natural food.

Snags are teeming with creatures such as water snails, caddis larvae and freshwater shrimps – all the things that a carp will happily crunch on for hours.

Where to fish

How do you locate where the snag starts and ends, once you’ve found one? The first stage is to cast leger with no hooklink using the lightest weight you can for minimum disturbance, then by gently pulling the rod back you will feel where the lead hooks up and where there are clear spots. To inch closer to the snag, let a little line off the reel and then clip up. Retrieve the line and cast again. You’ll be able to get closer and closer to the snag by repeating this process without casting into it.

This ‘leading around’, as it’s known, will help to give a mental image of where the snag starts and ends. The lead shouldn’t jam, as there is no hooklength attached. Use a safety clip so that if the lead does lock up, the clip will eject it, allowing you to easily retrieve your main line.

Once the snag’s make-up has been established and a clear spot found, you could cast a marker float to the area in order to find the depth. As long as it’s not too shallow, fish will generally be in the area because of the snag.

Hitting the same spot

Having established where to fish, add the hooklength. Keeping the line clipped up when casting will ensure that you hit the same spot every time. Carefully tighten down to the lead, making sure not to move it and take the mainline out of the clip.

In order to hit the exact same spot again after a run, Damian uses a line marker.

After tying a small length of light pole elastic on to the mainline, he slides the elastic till it lines up with the third ring of his rod.

After a run, cast away from the swim and wind back until the knot sits beneath the third rod ring. Place the line in the clip and then cast back into the

area that you’re fishing. This ensures that the rig hits the same spot every time. If fishing really close to a snag at night, pull the line marker back by one ring. The rig will be a good foot off the snag giving a margin of error.

A. Place the rod’s butt ring very close to or against the bite alarm.

B. Set your bobbins high to prevent too much line being released on a run.

C. Use the rod’s line clip to help keep everything taut.

D. You shouldn’t use any free-spool facility possessed by the reel. Fish ‘locked up’ and tighten the clutch fully. Braid is a better reel line than mono.

E. A tight butt grip is essential.

1 BANKSTICKS

Both banksticks have stabilisers fitted. This stops the bankstick from twisting in the ground. Make sure all thumbscrews are also tight.

2 BUTT GRIPS

Good butt grips are essential. Whichever make you use, they must firmly hold the rod’s handle. If the rod tip is pointing down or you’re fishing at a slight angle, the fish can pull the rod so hard they can pull the rod out of the clip. You could end up losing the rod or give the fish enough line to reach the snag. Either is a disaster!

3 REEL

Don’t engage the free-spool mechanism on the reel. Fish with everything ‘locked up’ and the clutch tightly set. The carp will not be able to take line and so won’t be able to get deeply into the snag.

ROD

Any carp rod will do for snag fishing. The rod set-up and the use of balanced tackle are much more important than a powerful rod.

5 LINE CLIP

These help to keep the line taut and give better bite indication.

BOBBINS

Set high in order to take as much stretch out of the mainline as possible. Add-on weights amplify this effect.

7 BUTT RING

Place the rod’s butt ring against the bite alarm for added stability and to help with the locked-up effect.

8 MAINLINE

Monofilament will stretch allowing the fish some room for movement. This stretch increases with distance. Consider using braided line, as braid has zero stretch.

Keeping the line down

DAMIAN’S terminal tackle starts with 18 inches of rig tube. This he colours in slightly with an indelible black marker. The black marker helps to camouflage the rig tube on the lake bed.

“It was just one of the many things that we learnt from some underwater video shoots,” says Damian. A small lump of lead putty is moulded around the top of the tube with a few twists of lead wire wrapped around the centre of the tubing. This helps to keep the rig tubing pinned down as air can become trapped in tubing, allowing it to lift slightly. This will spook any cruising fish, as the presentation looks very unnatural. A flying backlead is also used on the main line above the tubing. Flying backleads are small in-line leads that fly up the mainline on casting. This also helps to keep the main line pinned down to the lake bed and is a definite bonus when using braid as a main line.

Lead choice

A KORDA Grippa is Damian’s first choice of lead. These leads feature small lumps on both sides. The lumps offer more resistance for a better ‘bolt’ effect and are useful when presenting rigs on a slope or island shelf. The lead is fished with a Korda safety clip. These are imperative for fish safety, especially when fishing into a snag as the lead can be ejected if caught up.

Tail rubber sense

KORDA’S safety clips and tail rubbers have been designed to complement each other.

“A lot of anglers cut back the tail of the clip to allow easier ejection of a snagged lead. This is wrong as our safety clips were never meant to be used like this,” says Damian. Fishing with the tail rubber only a third of the way onto the clip will allow the lead to free itself easier.

An added advantage of the clip throwing the lead is that the carp will come up in the water rather than staying deep. This makes playing the fish much easier.

Feathering a cast

When casting a PVA bag attached to the hook, you need to slow the cast down just before the bag hits the water. This is known as ‘feathering’. Placing your finger lightly on the spool will slow the pace of the line, straightening out the rig or stopping the force of the bag, ejecting the lead as it hits the water.