River fishing tips | Give your commercial gear a change of scenery on a local river!
Top matchman Andy May is best known for his commercial fishing exploits, but he likes nothing more than spending a few hours roving his local river for chub.
What’s more, says the former Fish O’Mania champion, you need hardly any extra kit for rivers… and much less of it!
He uses the same rods, reels, baits and bits of terminal tackle as he does on commercials. A few stick floats and you’re away! So why not take a leaf out of Andy’s book and try something a bit different on your local small river this week?
Pick the right swims
When you stroll along the bank you’ll come across countless spots that look ideal, but it pays to quickly analyse a number of factors before settling into a swim.
“If you can see the bottom all the way across then it isn’t worthy of your attention. Look for spots where the water appears to deepen off as fish will sit there when it is low and clear,” he says.
“Cover is also important and my favourite swims have lots of overhanging trees that dim the light and give fish more confidence to feed.
“Last but not least, you need a swim that allows you to run a float through it. If it’s choked with weed you won’t be able to manoeuvre a float and that will instantly lower your chances of providing good presentation.”
A few hours roving
To demonstrate how successful his simple roving approach can be, Andy took us to his local River Dane in Cheshire, where he soon found a number of spots that just screamed big fish. A few runs through on the stick float in each was enough to determine whether anything was present.
“The venue isn’t heavily pressured like a commercial so the fish are less cagey and will snap up a bait the instant they see it.”
In less than two hours Andy landed three 4lb-plus chub and a couple of smaller samples, with no more than one fish coming from each swim. “Today has shown how important it is to stay mobile,” he said. “Grab your commercial fishery kit and put it to a completely different use on the rivers this week.”
The kit you need
“If I am out for two hours of river action I will probably end up visiting at least 10 swims,” says Andy. “But I’ll spend less than 15 minutes in each one before moving on. It follows that you need the bare minimum of tackle with you – a rod, landing net and a small bag of terminal tackle and bait.”
A small carryall with a shoulder strap is ideal and will easily hold everything you will require. Andy has five items that he will never leave the house without when heading down the river...
Bait: “Chub and barbel love pellets. I always take a bag of 6mm pellets and feed these little and often. I like my hookbait to stand out from the crowd and use a banded 8mm pellet.”
Polarising sunglasses: “On low and clear rivers, if you look carefully, you will notice fish moving around. I use Wiley X Europe eyewear – they remove surface glare and make spotting chub and barbel a lot easier.”
Hooks and line: “Most small rivers are full of weed and overhanging trees. Give a big fish half a chance and it will snag you up. I use fairly thick wire hooks in sizes 10 and 12 and all my hooklengths are 0.20mm or 0.22mm. Reel line is 6lb or 8lb.”
Rod: “A specialist rod isn’t required – I use my pellet waggler rod for this type of fishing.”
Floats: “This is the only bit of equipment you might not already own. I carry a few different types of alloy stick float with me to cater for different conditions.
“Presentation is key to getting bites, and using the correct style of float is important. Floats with a big tip are more buoyant and best in fast water, while those with a bigger body are most effective in slower and deeper swims.”